Whether you’re a teacher, professor, administrator, or parent, you’re probably wondering how the popularity and easy access to AI tools affects the educational lives of students.
Like other technological advancements, there are advantages and disadvantages to the use of AI in our school systems and in the hands of our children and students. But it’s not just the use of AI by students that has come into question - but the use of AI by educators as well.
We’ll examine the most common pros and cons of AI in education as they affect both teachers and students.
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Advantages of AI in education
Accessibility
For students in remote locations, with disabilities, or whose native language is not English, AI tools can provide access to learning materials that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. With tools that have been trained on all the knowledge the internet has to offer, students that speak different languages have more opportunities to learn.
Automated grading
AI tools can automate the tedious parts of the grading process for different assignments and activities. This can speed up the grading process for teachers and instructors, allowing them more time to focus on student interaction and class preparations.
Efficiency and task assistance
Along with automated grading, teachers can use AI tools to assist with tasks such as building lesson plans, creating exams and quizzes, finding unique learning activities, and brainstorming topics for class discussions.
Immediate feedback
Students can use AI tools to receive instant feedback on lessons and assignments. This can help them identify areas of improvement or make adjustments to the assignment content they create. Receiving immediate responses can also help students better understand the topic without further struggle.
Improved engagement
Immersive learning experiences including virtual reality and augmented reality can motivate students to become more interested and engaged in the topics. By participating in these types of activities, students have more potential to enjoy learning about the subjects and lessons.
Personalized learning
AI tools can shape educational content to satisfy the needs of individual students. This can include custom lessons, helpful resources, and instruction for particular learning styles. These tools can also help students learn at a pace that better accommodates their abilities to understand the material and remember what they learn.
Supplementary content
Teachers and students can both obtain supplementary content to broaden learning topics and expand interest in those subjects. With additional resources that are more readily available, lessons and learning can be magnified.
Tutoring
Students can benefit from additional assistance in the form of tutoring tailored to their specific learning needs and styles. Many AI tools provide a starting point to identify the student’s particular needs and then build the custom assistance accordingly.
Related: New to AI as an educator? Look at ways to learn AI for teachers.
Disadvantages of AI in education
Academic misconduct
As teachers work to combat cheating, plagiarism, and similar academic misconduct, AI tools can make it easier for students to obtain content without composing it themselves. It can also provide answers to questions that students are required to calculate on their own to better understand the material.
Algorithm bias
AI is trained to respond to questions. So, if the training information is biased, then the responses can be as well. This can lead to stereotypes, social inequalities, and possible resulting unfairness with non-native English speakers.
Errors or inaccuracies
While AI tools are becoming more reliable, they still cannot guarantee error-free answers, responses, or content. On the other hand, AI detectors are also flawed and may lead to students' work getting flagged as AI-generated when it was not.
Ethical concerns
Using AI tools to monitor student behavior, make major educational decisions, and replace task performance can create ethical concerns for educators.
Implementation cost
For schools interested in implementing built-in AI tools, the cost for such tools may be beyond their financial means.
Isolation and lack of human interaction
As with other types of technology such as smartphones, video chats, and text messaging, AI tools can reduce the amount of human interaction between teachers and students thus creating the possibility of isolation.
Privacy concerns
Most AI tools rely on some amount of data to provide results. Whether email addresses, phone numbers, or personally identifiable information, privacy is a legitimate concern especially in the collection of excessive data.
Technological dependence
AI tools can create a dependency when they become the only tools used by teachers and/or students in accordance with the advantages listed earlier. Relying solely on results from artificial intelligence is impractical and unrealistic.
Final thoughts
Artificial intelligence now has a place in our lives, no matter how we each use it. The key is to take advantage of the benefits of it but always keep in mind the downsides. With proper use and control, AI can be helpful in educational settings and even foster both teaching and learning.
Original images generated by Plus AI which is available for Google Slides and Docs along with Microsoft PowerPoint.
