From how we find our way around an unfamiliar city to how we book a taxi, we live in a world made simpler by algorithms and big data. And there’s no shortage of on-going, breath-taking discoveries: Google’s self-driving car, a deep learning machine that can teach itself chess in 72 hours, robots folding towels and, we’re sure, more to come.

In a world where digital tools support virtually every part of our lives, why is it that the full power of such tools has yet to be unleashed to those who might benefit most – educators and learners? With smarter digital tools offering up the promise of learning that is more personalised, inclusive and flexible, it has become critical that we — and particularly teachers, learners and parents — have a firm understanding of what these tools can do, and how they work.

In our recent paper, Intelligence Unleashed: An argument for AI in Education, the authors described the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in Education and what needs to change in order for AI in Education to have the real impact in education that we would want to see.

There are challenges a-plenty to be found when attempting to implement smarter digital tools in schools in any system, in any country around the world. From obstacles of funding to teacher professional development to basic infrastructure; it’s no secret that school systems worldwide aren’t set-up for using technology in a way that has a positive impact on learner outcomes. “Interventions” such as interactive whiteboards in every classroom or provision of tablets and laptops for every child have led to much scepticism in the education community about whether technology really can have a positive impact on learning. The key issue here, with handing these kinds of tools over to teachers with no training or proper implementation, is that the approach isn’t founded first and foremost in pedagogy –  in short, we need to start with the learning need, and not with the technology.

AI can do a number of things that mean some applications to learning that could be of real benefit to teachers and learners, which include.

1. Open Learner Models

By opening up data gathered to learners and teachers, we can help them to see what they are learning and where they are struggling.

2. Mapping the learning process

AI techniques can help us analyse learners’ behaviour, and teachers can use that to adjust their teaching styles to help the students where they need the most support.

3. More advanced assessments

At the moment computers are good at telling you if a student has got the answer correct or not, but with machine learning and more complicated algorithms, AI can help us construct new meanings from a collection of existing data.

– AI can let the teacher know the probability that their individual students have actually understood and mastered the topic, rather than a test score.

– There’s the potential to assess more intangible ‘21st century skills’, at scale.

– Through game-like simulations, students can be assessed without feeling like they’re being tested, for example, Pearson’s Alice in Arealand game.

4. Adaptive learning

Systems that can personalise learning for students, by making recommendations to the student based on their past and current performance, for example if the student is struggling, the AI might recommend a new piece of supporting content to give them extra assistance. For more on adaptive learning see our recent publication Decoding Adaptive in partnership with EdSurge.

In Intelligence Unleashed the authors discuss three categories of AIEd software applications designed to directly support learning. One of these is Intelligent Tutoring Systems which use AI techniques to provide a personal tutor for every learner. These personal tutors would be affordable and accessible across all subjects, to all students. It would simulate one-to-one human tutoring and be able to select activities best matched to a particular learner’s cognitive needs, as well as provide feedback, without a teacher having to be present. You can see the possibilities for this to provide learners of all economic backgrounds with much-needed at-home support for pre-work or homework, enabling deeper learning when they’re in the classroom with their teacher.

In addition, in a series of short pieces we call Ideas Worth Sharing, AI in Education experts from around the world talk about some of the ways that AI can be or is already being used in education – and they’re not talking about replacing teachers with robots!

However, the authors of Intelligence Unleashed do believe that the role of the teacher will be transformed as a result of the successful implementation of AIEd. Many of the things we currently expect teachers to use their time for, such as marking, recording learner progress and general administrative tasks could instead be done by intelligent machines. This would give teachers much-needed freedom to spend their time and energy on the very human task of teaching – a task that no machine could do to the same level, no matter how artificially intelligent it might be.

Open Ideas at Pearson

Sharing independent insights on the big unanswered questions in education