Revolutionising education: The impact of AI

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought great changes across an array of business segments. Academia represents a unique example where AI has introduced a brand new level of revolution. In the last few years, AI has infiltrated classrooms, transforming the teaching-learning processes like never before and enhancing the scope for personalised learning.

One of the most significant contributions of AI to education is the facility to design learning experiences for every student based on their individual abilities and learning styles. The AI-powered educational platforms detect the student's learning style, features and problems, and thus create a logical progression with which the student can engage. Adaptive learning tools are machine learning-based systems that in response to a student’s progress dynamically change the complexity of learning materials.

This makes sure that every student may have a customised education experience leading to good comprehension and retention of information. Even though the personalised learning system in traditional universities is still in the early phases, online learning platforms have been extraordinarily successful in implementing it.

The advent of AI technology has led to the evolution of intelligent tutoring solutions that provide students with real-time feedback and learning aids. These systems make use of natural language processing and machine learning in the process of interpreting and grading student submissions, as well as in identifying misconceptions and supplying individualised support. An intelligent tutor may imitate dialogue form, providing instant advice and more material to work on, therefore, the learning process is impacted positively.

AI is automating clerical or mundane jobs in educational institutions so that teachers can dedicate their time and effort in teaching and research. AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants may be tasked to undertake more routine queries, admission processes and also grading which may help in saving important resources. The advantages of such automation are, firstly, it raises the efficiency. Secondly, it can avoid human errors and most important, it reduces the administrative burden on educators, allowing much more time for student engagement and academic advancement.

AI can identify problems and solve unforeseen issues proactively by utilising enormous data (big data) processing capacity. Predictive analytics leads to prompt interventions by instructors as it allows them to deliver targeted support to the learners who are likely to falter or not achieve the desired success. Institutions can recognise certain trends appearing among students and intervene in the processes accordingly, which will result in increasing student success rates.

AI is not only enriching the student learning process but also making a concrete mark in the teachers' professional growth. Applications powered by AI can appraise teacher performance, give feedback, and recommend specific learning materials that are customised to every individual. This continual feedback loop makes the instructors learn new techniques which affect the contemporary classroom practice positively, hence, they become well-experienced and effective in teaching.

AI has a wide influence in the education sector covering different facets right from the provision of individualised learning experiences to students to the administrative work of the teacher. With the development of technology, AI’s role in education will keep on increasing. However, at the same time, concerns about data protection and ethical challenges should also be addressed. Thus, the impact of AI in terms of education cannot be ignored, as it will usher in a more flexible, efficient and inclusive learning environment.

This article is authored by Praveen Kumar Loharkar, assistant professor, SVKM’s NMIMS, MPSTME, Shirpur Campus.