Artificial Intelligence in Education

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN EDUCATION

Artificial intelligence has been the subject of many controversial points of view. In the educational field, many of us worry that children will no longer actually think but become proficient at copying and pasting instead of thinking. Meanwhile, those of us in education and librarianship do not possess the technical know-how on which artificial intelligence is founded.

Image Source: Geek for Geeks

A quick internet search on the word revealed that artificial intelligence returns the following definition: "the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages". However, when we search artificial intelligence in education, we read that it is "the use AI technologies and tools to enhance teaching and learning experiences". When put this way, the definition is plain and simple. However, I wanted to go further and asked "what are some AI technologies that can be used in education?". The answer was the following: "Intelligent tutoring systems, chatbots. learning analytics, automated grading systems, personalized learning platforms, virtual and augmented reality, speech recognition and natural language processing, content recommendation systems, and gamification".  Of these, I was intrigued by chatbots and intelligent tutoring systems. Since I am particularly interested in the field of environmental sustainability, I decided to go the the chatbox site and simply ask the question, "What are the elements of environmental sustainability?"
The answer was astounding and included all the core elements of the field such as "ecosystem conservation, resource management, pollution reduction, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, climate action, sustainable urban development, community engagement, education and awareness, economic vitality, and cultural considerations". It took me a while to look at the list carefully and I realized that while it was a good list with many elements specific to the field of environmental sustainability, it was not a complete list. It was, however, a very good place to start the conversation.

My concern was that students might be tempted to use this tool to bypass the necessary readings and exercises needed to master a subject. The temptation is there and it is up to the education to craft quizzes and exams that reflect the students, true thinking on a subject rather than their ability to search, cut, and paste.
Image Source: ClassPoint

One of the ways to assess children's true knowledge of a subject is to actually ask them to complete an assignment with and without using AI tools and content (and reference the tool they used). This allows both the instructor and the student to notice the limitations and strengths of AI tools. 


Image Source: The New York Times

I discovered AI during my MLIS journey. It has since helped me get a head start in crafting my storytimes but also when I am diving into a subject that is new and a little intimidating. I often use it as a starting point and then I use more precise information for the resource in front of me. But I am an older student and learning new things is different at my age than it is when you are 10 years old or in your 20s. 

Finally, we should note that all AI search tools are not created equal. We as educators would do well to rate those tools whether ChatGPT, Bing AI, etc, and guide our students towards the more thorough and trusted ones. Like it or not, AI is here to stay and we must learn to use it for good instead of allowing it to become a hindrance to our efforts towards educating our children.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ACTIVE LEARNING METHODS

Image
  ACTIVE LEARNING METHODS Source Image: Apprendoo I was to be a substitute teacher in a 5th grade class and I was nervous. The instructor had shared his plans with me at 7:45 am and I was still looking it over and trying the connect the projector for the morning meeting when the 5th graders started trickling in. Thank God they had two specials that day: PE and Music. Looking over the plans, though I noticed that in social science, we were to discuss the Transatlantic Slave Trade. And then I had an idea. I would use an active learning method to deliver the course today. Source Image: Anabaptist world and Met Exhibition and Museum of Fine Arts Boston Students today learn differently. Gone are the days when concepts were expounded in a one-directional way. The days of mental mathematics, daily dictations, and memorization. The modern student must learn with images , concepts, and collaboration. The scholastic method of learning with its “rational discussion and clear understanding”...
Read more

Accessibility in Libraries

Image
  Digital Accessibility in the Library Source Image: US Department of Education ALSC Blog When reading the materials this week about accessibility in the library, I was reminded of Chen (assumed name). Chen is a young boy whom I met when he was in 2nd grade. Chen had a challenging road ahead because he had limited sight.  Even though I was a substitute teacher and was not given Chen's exact medical condition, I could tell that while Chen was a bright and kind boy, what he needed most was that websites, the documents, the books, all the learning materials needed during the day to be accessible to him. Watching Chen, day in and day out, made me realize how important it is that our schools and libraries be accessible to all children at all times. It is that accessibility that makes us a democracy and the library a universal educator. For Chen, this accessibility meant that his classroom work computer was enhanced with a tool that allowed him to zoom in and out of the material the...
Read more

Mapping My Digital Space

Image
  Mapping Your Digital Space           Image Source: DigitalSpace.com As as self described reluctant technology user ( see my previous post ), if I am to be honest about my activities online, I would indeed break it into the four categories which are personal, professional, visitors, and resident. Our digital activities are much like our physical ones. How would we categorize our presence in our homes, churches, stores, libraries, gym, the movie theater, the bar or even the park where we take walks and strolls on beautiful days. Still, I was a little confused about the meaning of “resident” versus “visitor”. The V&R model aims at understanding “understanding how people use the web, and the differences between their approaches to online engagement”. A visitor merely uses the internet “as a series of tools and a pool of information ” while a resident “expresses him or herself and leaves a proof of his/her visit”. Image Source:Indu...
Read more