The AI Revolution is Here! What this means for Educators, Students, and the Learning Environment

If you’ve followed our blog for a while, you’ll recall several of our posts have explored the future and possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, eLearning, and instructional design. The release of Generative AI (Nvidia) and OpenAI programs (ChatGPT and GPT-4) in the past year has accelerated the AI Revolution in all aspects of life, including education.

As I’ve been wrestling with the AI Revolution, as both an instructional designer and educator, I’ve held to an insight from Caryl Walling (Baker College): “Technology won’t replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will replace teachers who don’t.” (Walling, 2018). AI has the potential to enrich the learning environment and create smoother, streamlined processes for educators and students. However, as recent headlines throughout this year have pointed out, AI can exacerbate ethical concerns as well. 

Today we’ll explore the relationship between education and AI. We’ll begin by discussing the unique role of educators in the AI Revolution; the benefits and challenges of using AI in the learning environment; and the importance of introducing students to AI. 

The Unique Role of Educators in the AI Revolution

As AI continues to permeate the learning environment, we must keep in mind that AI cannot fully replicate several unique aspects of an educator’s role (Bharti, 2022; Marr, 2022; Stone, 2023). Educators have emotional intelligence and the ability to respond with empathy to students’ questions and needs. As I’ve shared in previous posts, the relationship between educators and students and the ways educators motivate studentsare key factors to students’ success in the learning environment. This relationship allows students to learn and practice soft skills such as communication, teamwork, creative thinking, interpersonal problem-solving, and conflict resolution (Marr, 2023). Regardless of the way they are shaped and morphed by technology and AI, every career and vocation involving human beings essentially requires soft skills.  

In addition, educators can challenge students to become better critical thinkers. Bertrand (2023) points out that “as machines become better at answering questions, educators should guide students to ask better questions.” For now, “AI still lags behind humans in most disciplines, especially complex tasks that require a blend of technical competencies and socioemotional skills” (Bertrand, 2023). Even though education must shift to keep up with the new technological milieu we find ourselves in, educators will always play a pivotal role in students’ learning and growth. But as Walling (2018) observed: “teachers who use technology will replace teachers who don’t.” Educators must be aware of the benefits and challenges of AI in the learning environment, which will be explored in further detail below (Bertrand, 2023; Bharti, 2022; Marr, 2022).

Benefits and Challenges of AI in the Learning Environment

Marr (2022, 2023) states that AI has already been helping to combat “some of the toughest challenges in education today, including addressing inequalities in the way schooling is provided around the world and improving access to knowledge globally.” Some of the following beneficial ways AI has been and continues to be used in the learning environment include: 

• Taking over repetitive, structured administrative tasks such as time management as well as completing and grading assignments. 
• Tracking student progression. 
• Making education more accessible. 
• Providing tutoring systems that execute personalized learning experiences for students of all ages and abilities. 
• Powering remote and online learning environments that adapt the pace of teaching to match students’ needs. 
• Translating languages.  

Similarly, Bertrand (2023) notes that AI-powered adaptive learning technologies have already shown promise in academic disciplines such as literature and math. These technologies can “assess students’ current knowledge and competencies, identify gaps, deliver content and quizzes at the right level, and provide feedback to improve learning outcomes.” Bharti (2022) concurs, asserting that AI has the ability “to personalize learning for each student” as well as “provide students with objective and responsive feedback on their work.” She concludes that this feedback can assist educators in adjusting lesson plans and teaching strategies to accommodate students’ needs. Marr (2022) echoes Walling’s insight, admonishing: “AI is becoming a valuable teacher’s aid and is transforming classrooms – so the sooner teachers can get used to working alongside AI and intelligent robots, the better.” 

However, as previously mentioned, if not addressed and used properly, AI can exacerbate problems such as plagiarism, bias, and misinformation (Elgersma, 2023). Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem, Professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and AI Ethics Lead for the Centre for AI Research (CAIR) reminds us that that ethics “is not about abstract principles” (UNESCO, 2023). AI is a dynamic system, which should enable innovation. Innovation, in turn, leads to trust in the companies who create AI products, which leads to success (UNESCO, 2023). Similarly, Jarrahi, Monahan, and Leonardi (2023) stress the importance of being able to “critically assess machine inferences, and to understand the ethical implications and responsibilities associated with using algorithms, including privacy and accountability.” Rather than being quick to ban AI, educators should introduce students to AI and help them wrestle with the challenges and benefits of this technology both in and outside of the classroom.  

Importance of Introducing Students to AI

In discussing the results of a recent survey, Knox (2023) shares that overall, this year’s graduates feel “prepared for technological work, even if they did not major in a related field of study.” However, the survey participants had mixed responses when asked if they were worried about the ways AI would impact their professional field or their job prospects: 

• 60% believed AI would affect their professional field over the next decade.
• 40% were not at all worried about AI’s impact on their job prospects.
• 36% were somewhat worried about AI’s impact on their job prospects. 
• 8% were highly worried about AI’s impact on their job prospects.

Peter Stone (2023), professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the 100 Year Study on AI (AI100) purports that it’s critical for students to be educated about AI, since it will most likely be part of their careers and work environments. He concludes that students “need to know how to use artificial intelligence technologies and also to be literate as to what AI is capable of, what it’s not capable of, what its potential uses and misuses are.” Today, “about 40% of the world’s population is under age 24. If schools fail to prepare this generation of youth for the age of thinking machines, the consequences on social and economic peace may be dire” (Bertrand, 2023). Christine Elgersma (2023) offers excellent strategies educators can employ to introduce students to and help them wrestle with the uses of AI including discussing “sketchy ethics, the digital divide, the protection of intellectual property, and data privacy.” 

Conclusion

As we’ve explored in this post, the AI Revolution continues to impact all aspects of life, including education. While we’ve only scratched the surface of AI, and the AI Revolution is still in the initial stages of coming to fruition, especially in education, Stone (2023) provides an excellent analogy: “Did a calculator replace the role of human teachers in math classrooms? No. The teacher now has to teach how to do arithmetic without a calculator and then how to use the calculator appropriately.” Rather than letting AI intimidate teaching and learning, educators and instructional designers need to address the challenges of AI—and embrace the benefits of the tool. Integrating AI into the learning environment introduces students to this permeating technology and empowers them to think critically about AI’s uses in academia and in their lives.

References: 

Bertrand, M. (2023, May 24). AI won’t replace teachers — but a classroom revolution is coming. Al Jazeera.  

Bharti, A. (2022, March 16). Why artificial intelligence will never replace teachers.            

Elgersma, C. (2023, February 14). ChatGPT and beyond: How to handle AI in schools. Common Sense Education.  

Jarrahi, M. H., Monahan, K., & Leonardi, P. (2023, June 8). What will working with AI really require? Harvard Business Review.

Knox, L. (2023, May 2). The class of 2023 on remote work, AI and more. Inside Higher Ed.

Marr, B. (2022, March 7). Will artificial intelligence replace teachers? Bernard Marr.            

Marr, B. (2023, February 17). The top 5 education trends in 2023. Forbes.  

Stone, P. (2023, April 28). Will artificial intelligence help teachers—or replace them? (Interview by A. Prothero). Education Week, Classroom Technology. 

UNESCO. (2023, February 6). Ethics of AI: Challenges and governance [Video]. YouTube.

Walling, C. (2018, June 22). Planning for an engaging and dynamic classroom… Can we compete with Google? [Presentation]. e-Cornucopia.2018: Teaching with Technology Conference. Oakland University. Rochester, MI.