Research among various outlets advocate for the use of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom. When used appropriately, it is proposed that AI has the potential to:
Many tasks involving planning, executing and assessing instruction can be accomplished through AI. When prompted, AI can perform tasks such as creating a lesson template, creating lesson materials, and grading, among many other things. It does so based on patterns of data on the key ideas of the prompt. These functions can preserve teachers time and cognitive load, which can then be used to focus more on personalizing the learning experience. In this, teachers can be more attentive to engaging in practices that build socioemotional connections, meet their students' needs, strengths and interests, adhere to curriculum requirements, their teaching style, etc.
Artificial Intelligence can replicate human intelligence through its ability to read, recommend, create, write, talk, play and more. These abilities are reflective of what teachers do in the classroom and foster within their students. AI affords students the opportunity to encounter, evaluate and perform these tasks, whether it be in direct academic ways or non-academic ways that are transferable to the classroom. Free and accessible AI programs broaden learning beyond the classroom to the home and beyond.
As with anything, there are aspects of AI to be weary of. Without intentional utilization of AI, Artificial Intelligence may suffer:
AI’s ability to respond to prompts is rooted in data pattern analysis and replication. Therefore, AI isn’t actually “thinking” per say. When compared to human ability, AI is relatively limited in its ability to adapt and respond to prompts in especially specific ways. At times, what is produced may be very general, biased, or showcase false data in an authentic manner. Thus, it is important that users are able to critique and if needed, edit the forms to be more accurate.
Despite exercising human intelligence tasks, AI is still only a technological application. It does not possess human sentiment and therefore cannot feel, act upon nor show emotion. The social emotional component to learning is vital for a dynamic and authentic experience. Therefore, when using AI to support instruction, it is important for teachers to be sure that they are employing practices that focus on building relationships, adapting to social and cultural differences, reflecting student culture and interest, etc.
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