A.I. is already deeply entrenched in American schools, and more is on the way. At the most recent iteration of Bank of Montreal鈥檚 annual Capital Markets Back to School conference for technology investors, reported panel moderator Jill Barshay, editor at the Hechinger Report, products in the works included anti-plagiarism software, a gamified assessment in which young children read to a computer screen, and a tool for verifying that students in online courses are, in fact, who they say they are.
Still, compared with efforts to envision the future, discussion of what AI offers education right now was decidedly less breathless and more pragmatic.
鈥淢achine learning is great, but I want to think more about human learning,鈥� said TC鈥檚 Sandra Okita, Associate Professor of Technology & Education, who studies the use of robots and avatars as 鈥減eer learners鈥� that children can sometimes teach as a means of strengthening their own understanding of concepts. Okita added that 鈥渁 system doesn鈥檛 have to be intelligent to help you learn.鈥� But if AI technologies are going to be deployed, she said, it鈥檚 important to remember that 鈥渢ools are just objects, unless used purposefully 鈥� the key is what relationship you develop with them. And that鈥檚 where learning methodologies such as role play, scripting and dialogical instruction can work really well.鈥�
In a similar vein, Margaret Price, Principal Design Strategist for Microsoft, said that the huge multinational technology company has reoriented itself around the principle of inclusive design. Partly that means doing design both for individuals and 鈥渁ll 7 billion people on the planet,鈥� and partially it means facilitating group interactions so that students can become 鈥渄igital citizens, collaborators and competitors鈥� who can 鈥渢hrive in a digital economy in safe, ethical ways.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at co-creation to form hypotheses about creating solutions together,鈥� Price said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about novelty or technology for technology鈥檚 sake, but about trying to drive student outcomes.鈥�
Stefania Druga, founder of HakIDemia and Afrimakers and creator of , a platform for AI education for families, said that with 47 million households having some sort of AI home assistant, some form of literacy is needed for children and their families. Still, she said, in her research, she鈥檚 found that children treat AI with less reverence the more they use and master it.
鈥淎t first their reaction is, 鈥業t鈥檚 smarter than me,鈥� but when they learn to use it, it鈥檚 not smart.鈥� Druga said she wants to change the terminology from 鈥渁rtificial intelligence鈥� to 鈥渆xtended intelligence.鈥�
Ultimately, Druga said, 鈥渢he potential of AI in classrooms comes from the diversity of projects that kids can create鈥� 鈥� especially projects that allow for age-appropriate expression. One young student she worked with created a program that gave 鈥渂ack-handed compliments鈥� such as 鈥測our shoes look so good for being so cheap.鈥�
鈥淔or me,鈥� Druga said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 very telling that a ten-year-old wants to teach a robot to be bossy and cheeky.鈥�
鈥� Joe Levine
Speakers quotations may have been edited for clarity.
More from the AI Conference:
- 鈥淲e Can't Fix Education with Machines:鈥� AI can do wonderful things, but it can鈥檛 replace teachers and must promote equity
- 鈥淭he Future Will Be Nothing Short of Amazing:鈥� For Hod Lipson, the promise of AI significantly outweighs the perils
- A Topic that Pushes Buttons: Sparks fly at TC鈥檚 conference on the future of artificial intelligence in education
- AI Can Disrupt Racial Inequity in Schools, or Make it Much Worse: When it comes to tech and education reform, there鈥檚 been more talk than transformation