The technological revolution in schools could be on the verge of its next big breakthrough, as AI lines up to be the next big thing in the classroom.
Technology has had an enormous impact in schools, particularly over the last decade, but rather than slowing down, if anything the pace of change appears to be accelerating with the launch today of the first AI tool specifically designed for teachers.
Teacher Advisor uses IBM’s Watson 1.0 artificial intelligence technology to provide teachers with targeted support. The software provides math resources for teaching kindergarten through to fifth grade students.
Launched by the IBM Foundation, Teacher Advisor could be the tool that finally fulfils the promise of personalized learning.
Its arrival in the classroom comes just days after a former school leader and respected educationalist predicted that within 10 years AI powered robots would be able to do many of the tasks now performed by teachers.
Sir Anthony Seldon, former headmaster of Wellington College in England, said AI would be able to learn a student’s preferences, motivations, quirks and difficulties, so it could ‘move at the speed of the learner’.
At one level, IBM’s Teacher Advisor does the now-routine job of hosting resources, lessons and teaching strategies.
But what makes it a potential game-changer is the ability to adapt to both the teacher’s and the students’ abilities and needs. The more a teacher uses it, the more it begins to recognize what they’re looking for.
The IBM Foundation has trialled the software with more than 1,000 teachers across dozens of U.S. states and worked closely with the American Federation of Teachers to produce Teacher Advisor, and AFT president Randi Weingarten hailed it as an example of what an effective public-private partnership could achieve.
‘Teachers shoulder endless challenges and responsibilities - mastering content, standards and curriculum, and meeting the diverse needs and abilities of each of their students,’ she said.
‘Too often, teachers are expected to do all this single-handedly, but Teacher Advisor could help change that.’ It could help empower teachers and benefit students, she added.
According to IBM, the software can understand the meaning behind teachers’ queries and provide the most relevant answers. More training and use will expand its expertise and ability to help teachers.
This alone could help address some of the chief obstacles teachers face - limited time and the challenges of meeting the needs of 30 children, of differing abilities and with different needs.
As well as finding appropriate resources, there are a host of tasks that could be performed by AI and have the potential to significantly enhance learning.
One is the use of formative assessment. Marking essays is time-consuming, so software that can be trained to analyze written work and provide feedback would be immensely useful, as can technology that could evaluate an oral answer and respond to it.
The free online software, hosted on IBM Cloud, will help unlock a child’s passion for learning, according to Jennifer Ryan Crozier, president of the IBM Foundation and VP of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs.
Its ability to provide tailored resources will save teachers time, enhance their expertise and meet the differing needs of their students, she added.
Sheena Lee, an elementary school teacher at Umana Academy in Boston and one of the teachers who has trialled the software, said it helped her to decide how best to meet her students’ needs.
‘Time is of the essence for teachers,’ she said. ‘I need to help my students learn math in different ways, at different levels.’
It is easy to be cynical. After all, however much education has benefited from technology, there have been numerous false dawns as the next big thing turns out to be a damp squib.
It is also easy to get carried away. Ultimately, the test will be how it is used, and that depends as much if not more on the teachers as its designers.
But it does look as if AI could be the real deal, a technology that will have a significant impact on teaching and learning, and bring the holy grail of education - personalized learning for every student - that bit closer.
