Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Education: Pros, Cons, and How to Use Wisely
Artificial intelligence has become a world-wide phenomenon for its superior possibilities. One of the affected aspects is education. Let’s have an overview of the pros, cons, and real-life applications of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for education in this blog.
Pros/ Advantages of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
Unlimited Access to Smart-selected Knowledge
It’s undoubtedly that AI tools have shown their great power when it comes to data research. Chatbots like ChatGPT or BingAI are capable of providing information constantly from various sources without forgetting anything. All you need to do is to ask questions. Then, that AI tool will define the key points and give you the exact information you want. The data is processed, searched, and selected smartly by the tool. This means that the more specific your question or request is, the more accurate the answer you receive. So, instead of spending time scanning all the documents on Google, or Wikipedia, or any other storage, AI tools have done that part for you.
Deeper & More Personalized Learning
Each learner has his own pace of learning and exploiting knowledge. Some can process data and learn faster. Meanwhile, others need time to dig deeper into aspects due to slowness in visual processing speed, working memory capacity, and attention control. Therefore, traditional classroom learning might not be totally effective and equal to everyone. But with AI tools or platforms like Knowji, Cognii, or Altitude Learning, self-learning is much more focused. Learners are more active in developing a personalized learning method that is efficient to them.
Automated Grading & Instant Feedback
AI tools can be used to assess performance and provide instant feedback to students. This definitely saves teachers time and effort to handle other tasks at once. Gradescope is an example for being a useful AI platform in grading. For those with self-learning, spotting errors on AI is also effective. You can check if the information you write is true or not. If you ask further, AI tools like ChatGPT can even make some better suggestions for your answer. Just regard them as your own tutor and explore its infinite potential.
Considerable Reduction in Human Errors
People now can rely on AI tools for spotting errors. For example, when citing facts or data for an essay, you can ask questions on an AI tool like BingAI to cross-check if they are correct. Or, those AI tools can solve grammar problems in the blink of an eye. From the students’ side, the accuracy of their work is guaranteed to the utmost. From the teachers’ side, grading tests and homework assignments is no longer a time-consuming task.
Great Assistance in Distance Learning
After COVID-19, distance learning has become common in education. And the assistance of the AI tools for education has made all the work easier for both learners and teachers. From information research to assessment, AI tools play an important role as an efficient assistant. It can even create a virtual classroom with virtual teachers, bringing back diverse learning environments. Those tools even prove their strength when it comes to special cases. For example, for those who lack the ability to write and type due to physical state or age, there is a tool like Nuance’s Dragon Speech Recognition. The tool also supports verbal commands to navigate documents, which is essential for students with accessibility requirements.
Cons/ Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
Lack of Certified Information/ Accuracy
Though we can get access to an unlimited storage of data, there has been no proof that the information is certified. Almost any AI tool uses various sources for information research. They include uncertified data, which someone can make it up and upload it, as long as the tool gives out the exact keyword you are looking for. So, the accuracy might not be fully 100%. Learners must never totally trust the data. Instead, just use them as a reference. And, deeply interacting with those AI tools for education will help us further spot the inaccuracy and select the legit information we want.
Lack of Creativity and Brainstorming
Despite AI’s undeniable benefits, we all agree that relying on AI too much raises laziness and reduces creativity in humans, especially in students. Just a few clicks and we already have a full essay with clear points and arguments. If we know how to communicate with the tool, and brainstorm together with it, the result can be more than expected. But for students, many of them might totally depend on the tools. It makes them less creative when coming up with an idea, slower when solving a problem, and more passive in logical thinking. AI can not replace humans in fields of emotional intelligence. And by now, what AI knows is still what humans know and build from the past. What about the unknown knowledge? Therefore, AI does not perfectly have answers for everything. It’s just a tool to assist humans.
Cost & Maintenance
We all know that quality comes at a price. If you search for any AI tools on the market now, most of them will require a considerable payment. Not all are free and accessible like BingAI. And, AI itself has already asked for digital devices, leading to a huge consumption of power and resources. Besides, the maintenance, repair, and upgrade fee is also included. From a business and corporate point of view, those fees are affordable. But when it comes to schools, applying AI for education in a massive way is not easy like that. At the moment, only well-funded schools can take advantage of AI.
Human Replacement
With the booming of the software industry, AI tools might soon replace the role of humans if we do not use them wisely. AI’s possibility is to adapt quickly, and it has answers for nearly anything that humans know. From administrative work to teaching materials, those AI tools for education can learn all and develop more than we can imagine. Many AI teachers have been put into practice. And recently, a Chinese game company has appointed an AI to be a CEO. What makes it assured that in the future, there would not be AI principals?
How to Use Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Education Wisely?
Generate Smart Content & Ideas
Artificial Intelligence can help teachers and learners create innovative content for convenient preaching and learning. You can generate a discussion topic, a quiz, a game, or a teaching script thanks to AI tools. However, do not rely on them totally. Instead, use them as the reference to come up with original ideas. Then, apply your imagination and brainstorming skills to make the content have depth. During that process, communicating further with the AI tool is the way for you to see the idea in different perspectives and understand more.
Use as a Personal Tutor & Assistant
With great capacity for task automation, AI tools can be a great personal tutor and assistant. You can use them to check the homework, grade the tests, organize research pacers, maintain reports, and make presentations and notes along with other administrative tasks. Use them to make yourself more creative and productive, not to turn yourself into a lazy and passive person.
Combine with Other Authoring Tools/ LMS for an Optimal Combo
The best practice to make use of the AI tools for education is to combine them with other authoring tools & LMS. They become the ultimate combo that any teacher or learner wants to apply. While AI tools prove their best quality in content generation, authoring tools like ActivePresenter are no doubt the powerful weapon that makes all content designing tasks easy like a piece of cake.
ActivePresenter helps creators easily create eLearning courses, interactive quizzes, presentations, and training materials. With the combo of any AI tools like ChatGPT or BingAI and ActivePresenter, not only can you make full use of the tools and your imagination, but you can also have a unique output having your own marks with an economical time and effort.
Then, upload the course to your learning management system for specialized marking and reporting features if you want to track learners’ performance. Each tool and platform has its own strength. It’s most advised that you use the right tool for the right purpose for better and more optimal productivity.
Final Words
AI tools can be really powerful if we know how to make use of them. Be a wise user to turn them into your assistants and boost your productivity to the utmost. And, don’t forget to follow our Blog and YouTube channel for more eLearning content and tutorials.