The following article has been inspired by the thoughts of Mr. Mayank Srivastava. He is the Founder of Experts’ Global, one of the world’s leading EdTech firms in the field of GMAT prep and MBA admission consulting.
Education technology, colloquially known as EdTech, is a term that refers to the practice of deploying technology to impart education. By the virtue of its adaptive, progressive, and forward-thinking nature; the education industry has been quick to adopt all the latest in technological innovations that can make its goal of knowledge dissemination more efficient. The student body, itself, has been just as eager to do so. The last two decades have seen much more technology being used in the education sector; with search engines, live webinars, video streaming and specialized training applications becoming rather commonplace.
If one wants to know where EdTech will go from here, one should take a look at the field of artificial intelligence. To a certain degree; AI has already been incorporated into EdTech, and as it grows smarter, it is set to make a huge impact on how education is disseminated. In fact, machine learning has already been successfully utilized in a number of use cases. EdTech that has been made more efficient, with the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence solutions. This has made it a very useful tool in countries that have huge economic, cultural, and geographic disparities. In these countries, EdTech has allowed educators to establish a common avenue for all students to access quality education.
Here are some of the main ways in which AI will make EdTech more useful….
Adaptive Learning Solutions
There is a common problem that all educators have faced. All students have different natural capacities and thus, different learning requirements. However; it is not practical for educators to devote time to deal with each student’s requirements, individually. Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that just might hold the solution. Machine learning learns by gathering data on the user, machine learning algorithms can identify pattern’s in a student’s performance and use those patterns to craft a learning program that caters to their specific needs. For example, these algorithms can analyze the student’s performance on a simple practice exercise and then use their findings to pinpoint the student’s weaknesses. The EdTech tool then suggests conceptual material that can help them rectify those shortcomings. If the student has no prominent shortcomings, the program will simply suggest moving on to the next stage of study. A simple but effective method. With EdTech solutions that employ machine learning, we will be able to provide all students with adaptive, rather than standard ones.
The Application of Deep Learning
Deep learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence concerned with algorithms inspired by the structure and function of the brains through artificially designed neural networks. These neural networks are essentially computer systems, inspired by the biological sensory networks that constitute the brain. Meticulously coded deep learning algorithms can identify a student’s exact cognitive abilities, using data obtained from the student’s behavior. EdTech tools can use this information to make learning recommendations, whose content and style will perfectly match the student’s requirements.
Making Classes Discussions Driven
By adopting EdTech solutions, educators can drastically cut down on the amount of time they need to spend on non-teaching tasks. They will then be able to devote much more time to working with their students, rather than running errands. There are already EdTech tools that are capable of handling simple scheduling, organizing, and data keeping tasks. What’s more; EdTech tools can even handle certain teaching-related tasks, such as grading. The grading of objective type answers has been done through EdTech, for quite some time now. Grading subjective type answers is more complex, but EdTech is rapidly resolving to the challenge. There are artificial intelligence solutions, being developed, that will carry the cognitive abilities to grade subjective type answers. It will not be long before we see the deployment of these solutions. EdTech can also provide heavy support in even some of the tasks that are most intrinsically linked with teaching, such as class lectures. In the near future, educators will not prepare and deliver their own lectures. Rather; they will utilize pre-recorded lectures, prepared by the leading minds of every field. With all of these tasks being handled by EdTech, the educators will be able to devote all of their time to the areas that most need the human touch- class discussions and solving student queries. Essentially, EdTech tools will make education more effective, by freeing up the educator’s time for student interaction.
Deploying Collaborative Tools
Everybody knows just how effectively technology lets us collaborate, on our recreational pursuits. We can socialize with individuals across the steepest of geographic and cultural boundaries, with incredible ease. Artificial intelligence will help us develop tools that will let us collaborate, just as effectively, on educational pursuits.