Jin Ding/China Daily
The world is in the midst of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and may soon enter the “Fifth Industrial Revolution.” At the same time, the rapid development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence is impacting all levels of education, from primary and secondary education to higher education.
Countries around the world are exploring more flexible ways to leverage AI in education to educate students in remote areas and teach people the skills they need to build successful careers in the 21st century. There is. China has become a leader in the application of AI in education and training by developing smart learning systems and strengthening AI research. China is also working with other countries to promote the use of AI in education globally.
The fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” In this context, organizations such as UNESCO are exploring ways to leverage AI to realize SDG4.
AI “can be used not only to meet the needs of individual learners and provide one-on-one tutoring to students, but also to foster lifelong learning.” You can organize online classes and teach them to students from different parts of the world, translate the course content into the students’ preferred language, and allow them to interact with the instructor. This is important for students who live in remote areas, many miles from the nearest school.
Teachers can also use AI to prepare learning materials for students and help them complete specific courses. AI can also help teachers customize resources to improve learner performance. Researchers from the Beijing Future Education Advanced Innovation Center and Beijing Foreign Studies University have developed and implemented an automatic resource generation mechanism called the “learning cell model” to customize teaching materials and other resources for learners.
Research shows that the learning cell model can generate resources according to individual learner needs and improve student performance without increasing cognitive load.
An important area of research is the potential use of AI to facilitate language learning. Researchers from the Future Education Advanced Innovation Center and Beijing Normal University investigated how an “automatic resource generation system” could help teach Chinese as a second language in schools.
Researchers have developed a model that uses AI to ensure resources meet learner needs. Research has shown that the use of teaching-learning models has improved student performance and cognitive abilities. Students who took classes using the model participated more actively in class.
In addition to teaching languages, AI can also be used to help students of different ages and from different countries learn about different cultures. Researchers from Beijing Foreign Studies University, Athabasca University (Canada), and some Saudi universities are leveraging AI to help students from different countries learn from each other and learn about each other’s cultures from the comfort of their homes. We are looking for ways to support this.
AI applications must be designed to benefit learners and educators, and there must be policies in place for learners, teachers, and other staff in educational institutions. For example, you need policies regarding factors such as data privacy and security, copyright, academic integrity, transparency, and environmental concerns. A recent report by experts from Athabasca University and the Commonwealth of Learning identified 14 AI policies that higher education employees at various levels must follow.
However, some institutions are reluctant to allow students to use AI because they believe that AI does not benefit them or that it is unethical to allow students to use AI. is. But AI is here to stay, and educational institutions need to embrace it as another valuable tool.
As we move towards the “Fifth Industrial Revolution,” AI will develop the ability to think independently and potentially become as creative as humans; You may be able to complete intellectual tasks.
With advances in machine learning, AI systems may begin to develop unique ideas that can be applied to complex situations and contexts. AI has the potential to revolutionize education if properly designed and applied. The challenge for higher education institutions is how to respond to the rapid development of AI, especially when it comes to devising appropriate policies to transmit education to future generations.
The author is a professor at Athabasca University in Canada.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
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