Artificial Intelligence has been around since the late 1940s but thanks to the likes of Chat GPT it is no longer confined to the realm of science fiction and is widely accessible to the masses. While there are many benefits to AI, the drawbacks and risks are often discussed, particularly within education.
As artificial intelligence increasingly becomes a part of our everyday lives, it leaves parents, teachers and educational professionals alike wondering about the impact of artificial intelligence in education and how it will impact our childrens’ or students’ academic journey.
From homework and coursework to exam revision and tuition, we are delving into both the pros and cons of artificial intelligence and how it may shape the future of education.
Artificial Intelligence, Homework and Revision
Long before artificial intelligence platforms rose in popularity, students have been known to turn to online sources such as Spark Notes or even Wikipedia for support with homework, coursework, school and exam revision. The draw of these platforms is that they can often summarise the equivalent of a term’s worth of information into shorter, more easily digestible bullet points that students cherry pick from when working on assignments or preparing for exams.
Where AI has ‘the edge’ over online education platforms, is that students have the ability to feed in prompts such as ‘give me an example of a quote themed around loneliness from Of Mice and Men’ or even ‘Write me a three paragraph answer to the essay question “ Examine how Steinbeck presents the themes of loneliness in ‘Of Mice and Men’, analysing how he uses different characters to convey this theme”’.
Here’s an example of how Chat GPT answered that very question.
Through simple prompts and free AI tools, students are able to get a quick answer or explanation that seemingly reduces the amount of time required to complete a piece of work. While there are obvious draws to this, there are also a number of aspects of AI to watch out for.
What are the benefits of using AI to support a student’s education?
- The efficiency of AI to provide answers and digest information can be a huge help to students while they are juggling revision, coursework or homework for multiple subjects at once.
- Similarly, many AI platforms can be accessed by anyone, from anywhere which reduces the need for students to have physical resources like textbooks on hand and the need to source copies of academic papers.
- For AI-powered apps like Duolingo, the added gamification, interactive exercises and videos can make learning more engaging for students, enriching the learning experience and increasing the time spent learning and building that subject knowledge.
- Some AI tools can create visual representations of a student’s progress, such as charts or graphs, allowing both the student and their educators to see how they are advancing over time. Although it may not be displayed in a graph or in-app visual, a student’s progress is something that is also tracked by tutors and school teachers.
What are the watch-outs when using AI to support homework and coursework?
In contrast, there are potential risks students must take into consideration when using AI to support homework and coursework.
- The first is quality control and AI is a good example of “you get what you pay for”. While there are some incredibly advanced AI platforms in existence, the ones accessible to most students are free and aren’t without their flaws.
Chat GPT is one of the tools most people are familiar with, so we’ll use that as an example. On the one hand, it is free to use and requires a simple written prompt to generate content but at the time of writing it can only provide answers based on the information initially fed to it by a user or from information available online up to 2021.
- If a prompt is not targeted enough, students may end up with very vague answers that miss out critical details required to excel in a piece of homework or exam response.
- Answers given to students by AI may also be accurate to an extent but given the limitations on date ranges there is also a danger AI will provide incorrect or outdated information that paints an inaccurate picture.
- When we look at the longer-term picture, there are concerns that young people may develop an overreliance on AI tools, diminishing students’ problem solving skills and creativity as well as encouraging shallow learning from passively copying AI-generated content rather than actively absorbing information.
- It can be tempting for students to prompt AI tools to write entire pieces of coursework or homework. However, there is a risk of duplicate or very similar content being given to multiple students which runs the risk of plagiarism.
Just as there are AI platforms that can write content, there are platforms that can determine whether content was written by AI or has signs of plagiarism so it is easy to get caught out. Many institutions are also firm on the fact that content produced by AI is not representative of a student’s own work, meaning students could be penalised and face significant consequences if this is picked up.
What about tuition? Is Artificial Intelligence impacting private tutoring?
One of the most significant ways artificial intelligence is transforming education is through AI-powered tuition platforms which leverage AI algorithms to provide personalised and adaptive learning experiences for students. While these have their benefits and can support learning outside of school, there are of course watch-outs to be wary of here too.
The Benefits of AI-Powered Tuition
- Some platforms have the ability to analyse a student’s strengths and weaknesses and target content that is adapted to reflect their learning pace and support students with the resources they need to excel.
- AI-powered tuition is available round the clock from anywhere in the world. Much like an online tutor, AI-powered platforms can allow students to access help and resources at their convenience, even outside regular school hours.
- Some AI-powered tuition platforms are able to provide instant feedback on assignments and assessments, helping students identify, correct and learn from mistakes even more promptly.
The Dark Side of AI-Powered Tuition
While AI-powered tuition offers significant benefits, there are also potential concerns to consider.
- Both teachers and tutors will have a deeper knowledge and understanding of a student’s behavioural and educational needs, extending far beyond what AI is capable of analysing through algorithms. Overreliance and excess use of AI tools can reduce invaluable teacher-student interactions and real, tailored support.
AI tools can be a really helpful resource to complement education from a teacher or tutor but if you feel your child is lacking in a specific subject area or needs support with homework and exam preparation, we can connect you with one of our many expert tutors.
At Hampstead and Frognal Tutors, each of our tutors will work to understand your child’s individual learning style and the areas they need support to provide a tailored learning plan that will truly help them excel.
- AI platforms collect and analyse vast amounts of data in order to improve future responses. Typically AI tools will collect results including: in-platform test results to gauge a student’s understanding of a given topic, engagement metrics and interaction patterns to see how actively a student is using the platform and progress data and learning speed to give an understanding of a child’s proficiency.
While most of this data helps the platform to adapt and make predictive recommendations to support learning, data collection can also include personal information on students, which raises privacy concerns.
- While AI tools are accessible to many people, not all platforms are created equally so equity is a growing concern.
AI platforms vary in capability level and cost so there is a risk that if students do not have equal access to the same platform then it may further exacerbate educational inequalities.
Finding the Right Balance
While AI can enhance learning, it should complement, not replace, the invaluable guidance and mentorship of educators and parents, so it is crucial to strike a balance between the risks and benefits of AI in education. We know that may be easier said than done so these are our recommendations to help your children or students navigate the AI-powered world:
- Stay informed by familiarising yourself with the AI tools your child or student is using to ensure content is from reputable sources that can be referenced if needed.
- Remind students that AI is a tool, not a replacement for their own thinking. Encourage them to continue thinking critically and learning independently too.
- Emphasise privacy by educating children about the importance of safeguarding their personal information when using AI apps and websites.
- Remember AI should be used in conjunction with human judgement and expertise. Teachers, tutors and parents play a critical role in interpreting students’ performance to identify areas where support is needed to achieve academic goals.
AI is undeniably changing the landscape of education, both in the UK and around the world. While there are significant benefits to be gained, it’s crucial to be aware of the potential pitfalls and actively guide students’ use of AI in their educational journey. By doing so, you can help your child make the most of these technological advancements while preserving the essential human aspects of learning and development.
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Additional resources:
- According to a new study, the majority of teachers in the UK believe students are using Artificial Intelligence apps to do their work for them – find out more here.
- The Department of Education is due to explore the use of artificial intelligence in education delivery and assessment more in the coming months. We look forward to seeing if and how it impacts the education system here in the UK when outputs are published.