Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already revolutionising how we approach education, but experts say we will continue to see considerable changes over the next three years.
Discipline Leaders Management in the Department of Business, Strategy, and Innovation at Griffith University, Dr Vishal Rana, says that, in the AI era, schools will focus more on student well-being, leveraging AI tutors to personalise education.
It’s a topic that will be tackled at an upcoming conference – Shape the Future of AI in Education: Teaching and Learning Conference – at Flinders University in Adelaide on 28 October from 9am – 5pm. The conference is designed to help school educators delve into the potential of AI to transform schooling and help improve educational outcomes.
Curriculums for Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary education centres will see a shift due to AI, says Dr Rana– focussing on future-relevant skills, such as creative and critical thinking.
“Some of the major changes we can already see for educators is (that) GenAI serves as a co-pilot for many use cases: a) Curriculum development, b) Grading assessments, c) teaching, d) research, e) any form of content generation,” Dr Rana told The Bursar.
“The role of educators, moving forward in the next two-three years, will be using AI-powered tutors for teaching – and educators becoming a support mechanism for students in developing soft skills, as well as working collaboratively on problem solutions in their respective industry/sectors, with the assistance of AI.”
How will AI affect different schools?
Private schools have already begun using AI to aid in education and Dr Rana says some schools have solicited him and his team at Griffith University to train their staff in AI education techniques.
He says government support will be necessary to keep all schools on an equal footing regarding AI and notes that, while the technological gap between city and bush is beginning to close – thanks to innovations such as Starlink – regional support will need to continue in the AI era.
“In the next five years, we are likely to see this technology reach the remotest places,” says Dr Rana. “With a push for social impact in the last ten years, we will start seeing more incentives from government and investors to scale technology to the remotest of places. This will create a level playing field as technology is democratising.”
Education Minister Jason Clare declared that the AI service ChatGPT will be allowed in schools next year. Dr Rana says, with proper understanding, ChatGPT can have ethical use in the classroom.
“Proper understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs) and the ability to train their LLMs will allow them to use the technology safely with younger students,” he told The Bursar. “Next year, if not later this year, we will have AI-powered tutors like Khanmigo accessible by schools, which is a game-changer to a certain extent.”
By 2024, Dr Rana predicts the education sector will see many similar AI tutors hit the market, and with the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset helping unlock the powerful potential of the virtual learning world, he believes the new way of teaching and learning “will be disruptive but good for educators and learners”.
“Learners will have more fun and engagement with their AR/VR gadgets, and educators will be able to focus on the thing they love, i.e. spending more time with students, rather than spending more time on administrative tasks.”
