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Youth Interactive Correspondent
The e-learning landscape is set to have a dramatic change with the new wonder tool in the form of artificial intelligence (AI).
This future orientated phenomenon is already affecting how learners learn and how teachers teach globally. Admittedly, AI is one of the most trending abbreviations on social media right now.
It is not that AI is new but the race to adopt it just picked up late last year after the introduction of mind-blowing Chat GPT, a conversational Chatbot which has driven the savvy students, teachers and tech-prenuers into a frenzy mode.
In case you are wondering what is AI, the word prediction in your smart phone, the audio announcement calling the next client at Makombe passport office, the audio that gives warning to drivers, the converting text to speech by phones, the finger print locking system on office doors, the Whatsapp chat boxes introduced are all part of the broad family of AI.
In education AI is being used to handle multiple tasks that could have been reserved for teachers and administrators.
Lesson planning, scheduling, time management, exam setting, e-marking, grading, auto feedback, assessment, gamification, security, classroom Audio-Visual, parent-teacher communication, language translation, register marking, etc.
At tertiary level AI is being used to detect plagiarism, test exam integrity, chatbots for enrolment, retention, management systems, academic research and achieve the concept of connected lecture rooms.
The beauty of AI is that it caters for all educational levels from elementary level up to tertiary level at the same time catering for all learners with hearing and vision challenges.
Sadly at local level the impact of local players is still limited compared to global powerhouses like Content Technologies and Carnegie Learning who are already making millions through production of education AI intelligent instruction design and digital platforms that use AI to provide learning, testing and feedback to students.
There are many tools used by Artificial intelligence applications that help make classrooms global through interpretations and translations to those who speak different languages or who might have visual or hearing impairments.
There are also some plug-ins for inserting subtitles in real time for what the teacher is saying.
We have seen this on Google Meet.
So far leading the AI tools proving popular at global level include Just TheFacts101, Thinkster Math, Cram101, Jill Watson, Brainly, Nuance, KidSense and Palitt.
It now remains to be seen how local software developers will fare in the AI industry.
Subjects like local languages and others that are dominated by local content need more attention for the benefits of all students.
The big question is; what measures are our teacher training colleges taking to make sure that the freshly graduated teacher is AI compliant.
For old horses already in the field this is where professional development programmes come in.
Technological upskilling programmes should be a must for all teachers to ensure that they improve their classroom delivery techniques.
Preparations for an AI dominated future must start now because students of today will need to work in a future where AI will be a minimum requirement.
It is important that all educational institutions expose students to AI in all its forms which are available locally.
Trips to banks, high security buildings, e-learning compliant institutions, mobile service providers, automated industries and experience in use of highly tech driven gadgets is the first step of opening students’ eyes to the world of AI.
A checklist of all AI service providers in schools must be compiled so that the authorities will understand where they can get AI tools and gauge their level of compliance.
Online Reporter