No industry has been able to escape the AI-led transformation today. The way AI is redefining how all the industrial sectors work today is exciting to see and witness. And education being one of those sectors has welcomed AI with open arms though there were a few starting troubles at the initial stages of its adoption.
But now that the education industry has seen what AI is capable of achieving and there is no stopping! AI is transforming the education industry in unimaginable ways. It has indeed changed the way people look at learning and teaching.
That being said, AI-powered solutions have been in the EdTech space for quite some time now. And the use of AI in U.S. Education has increased by 47.5% from 2017-2021 according to the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector report.
Here are some stats on the use of AI in the education sector:
- As per the Global Market Insights, the use of AI in the education market size exceeded 1 billion USD in 2020. And it is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 40% between 2021 and 2027.
- Prescient and Strategic Intelligence says AI is expected to post revenue of nearly 25.7 billion USD by 2030.
- According to Markets and Markets, the global application of AI-powered technology in the education industry is expected to reach 3.68 billion USD by 2023.
This means only one thing, with AI, the education industry is not the same anymore. It is altering everything to do with the education world – in fact, may further change what the future might look like for the education industry.
Is AI here to replace teachers?
Of course not!
Nobody can replace what teachers’ do. They are and will always play a significant role in the growth journey of all students. And AI is here just to give a helping hand to the teachers in this journey – simplifying the teaching and learning experience for teachers and students respectively.
Did you know?
A recent survey studied how teachers usually spend their time in a day. And these were the findings:
- Teaching – 43%
- Planning curriculum and lessons – 13%
- Grading test papers – 11%
- Administrative work – 7%
Apart from these crucial tasks, teachers are also required to do a number of non-linear work that goes unnoticed but do eat up a lot of their time like, evaluating home works, documenting a lot of stuff, paperwork, managing teaching materials, organizing resources for lectures, making periodic progress reports, solving student’s problems, and more.
Now, imagine how much time teachers would be left with if AI could help them by taking up all the other administrative and non-linear tasks?
The good news is AI is capable of doing that. And this means, teachers today can use the saved time to focus on the student’s learning and growth journey, learn more about their students, modify their teaching approach to suit the student’s learning style and so much more!
Curious to learn more about how AI is transforming the education industry and revolutionizing the very way it works today?
Here are 3 ways how AI is transforming the education industry
1. Automating a large volume of administrative tasks
As mentioned earlier, teachers spend a huge chunk of their time doing all admin work that can be easily automated. And they spend another great sum of time grading test papers, assessing learning patterns, and responding to general questions, which too can be automated without a second thought.
Yes, you heard that right, with the support of AI and the right automation tools, educational institutions can easily automate most or all manual administration work, thereby, saving more time which teachers can now focus on helping students learn better, getting to know them better, altering their teaching approach and much more.
AI is also helping organizations answer frequently asked questions by either students or parents. Teachers are often bombarded with repetitive questions on a daily basis. AI can help students find answers to their most commonly asked questions in seconds with the help of chatbots. Not only does this free up a lot of time for teachers, but it also helps students spend less time tracking down answers or waiting for a response to their questions.
Apart from all these applications, AI today is also helping institutions to set efficient enrollment and admission processes. Not just that, AI can even help you close the learning gap if there is any or prevent this learning gap from surfacing in the first place. Thus, making the learning process as simple and efficient as possible.
2. Accessibility of learning materials
AI ensures learning and learning materials are accessible to all students regardless of the obstacles that made learning inaccessible to some otherwise. Today, AI is helping educational institutions break geographical barriers and silos that stand in the way of effective learning.
For instance, whether a student is slow at learning or is unable to attend school due to an illness /injury/disability, or because he/she has to travel a longer distance to get to school – AI is making learning accessible to all of them regardless of the problems that come in its way. AI is indeed a blessing for the education industry.
Put simply, AI-powered tools make virtual learning possible and in fact, a great success. In other words, it is making learning accessible to all students, anytime and anywhere. Each student is unique and may have their own learning style and speed at which they learn.
And because AI makes learning materials accessible to students anytime and anywhere – it makes it easy for them to explore what works for them and therefore, learn more efficiently.
3. Personalized learning approach
According to eLearning Industry, nearly 47% of learning management tools will be enabled with AI capabilities in the next 3 years. Adjusting learning based on an individual student’s particular needs has been a priority for educators for years.
Fortunately, AI today has the capability to make this happen – that is, create a level of differentiation that’s otherwise impossible for teachers who have to manage at least 30 students in each class.
AI is able to do that today with the help of a learning management system. Did you know that the top leading companies such as Content Technologies and Carnegie Learning are currently developing intelligent instruction design and digital platforms that use AI to provide learning, testing, and feedback to students from pre-K to college level – ones that can:
- Present students the challenges they are ready for
- Identify learning gaps
- Redirect or suggest new topics after a thorough evaluation of the past learning history and real-time needs
The purpose behind the application of AI in education is not to replace teachers, but to give them a helping hand in understanding the potential and limitations of each student.
The use of AI in schools makes things simple, easy, and convenient for both teachers and students.
By understanding the needs of every student, teachers can come up with a tailor-made study plan for every student.
Put simply, AI can streamline the education process for students. By providing access to the right courses, AI can make a significant impact on the students’ educational journey.
Though the idea of customizing the curriculum for every student’s needs is not viable today, but, you never know – it may come true very soon. Only the future will be able to tell us!
Till now, we only spoke about how AI can help students in their learning journey. Just like how AI helps personalize students’ learning courses, it can do the same for educators as well. Yes, AI can help analyze students’ learning styles and abilities, thereby, helping them reevaluate their teaching approach and the curriculum itself.
And this kind of analysis will help teachers create customized learning curriculum for their students. In other words, by analyzing each student’s specific needs, teachers can now adjust their courses to address the gaps in learning before it’s too late.
Not just that AI can make learning more fun and interesting to both teachers and students. AI-powered learning tools can also provide instructions and recommendations on how teachers can improve their overall teaching approach.
Have an additional point? Please share your views on how AI is transforming the education industry by dropping a comment in the below section.
