🔬📚 Education and artificial intelligence tools 🌟

Published 28.02.2024.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools and systems are software programs or applications that learn from the provided data sets, gain experience by adapting to new inputs. By using deep learning strategies, generative models can produce new content from existing text, images, and sound. It is rapidly developing field and has a disruptive effect on various fields, including education. Therefore, opinions about the use of AI tools in education are divided and subject to debate. While some strongly oppose them, others believe that they should be integral part of education.

How AI is influencing the field of education:

• Personalized learning: analysing individual students’ strengths, weaknesses and learning styles AI can adapt educational content to meet the specific need of each student. It means more efficient learning process and better engagement.
• Automated grading and assessment: in that way AI tools save educators time and provide instant feedback to student.
• Virtual assistant and tutoring: AI is providing additional support 24/7, in the form of answers, explanations and guidance on various topics.
• Predictive analytics for student success: AI can identify patterns and recognize early signs of students struggling so educator can provide additional support.
• Language processing for learning disabilities: AI can help in developing language skills, reading comprehension, and overall accessibility for students with diverse learning.
• Creation of smart educational content: generating quizzes, interacting lessons, adaptive textbooks.
• Learning analytics: AI can analyse large sets of data to provide insights into the effectiveness of various teaching methods and materials so educator can change his teaching techniques
• Educational games/simulations: it helps to make learning easy and interactive and can simulate real-world actions and hand-on hand experience.

There is no doubt how integration of AI in education presents numerous opportunities, but it also raises ethical considerations, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the potential replacement of certain jobs. Striking a balance between the benefits of AI in education and addressing these ethical concerns is crucial for the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies in the educational sector.

To make it easier to navigate among the tools offered and to choose the appropriate ones, it is necessary to work on recommendations for educators, as well as for students.

General recommendations:

1. ​ Become familiar with AI concepts and tools, read relevant resources, and follow current development.
2. Try using at least one AI tool. It is important that you have experience to speak a common language with the students.
3. Use AI tools to lighten your load in education! While writing course learning objectives, designing educational activities, looking for examples of the topic you will teach.
4. Talk to other educators. With peer learning, you can benefit from your colleagues’ knowledge on the subject and adapt to this process more easily.
5.  Ask for help from the Medical Education or Educational Technology units in your institution.
6. Disseminate the idea that AI tools can be used to support education and training in many fields related to education.
7.  Remember that AI tools do not have creativity and critical thinking, which are the most important characteristics of a good educator.
8. Both educators and students should always evaluate the accuracy and appropriateness of responses provided by AI tools.

LINK: https://doi.org/10.1515/tjb-2023-0254

Monika Ulamec