What is AI in Education?
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is technology that helps computers think and learn like humans. In schools, AI is used in many ways, like helping students with homework, grading tests, and even tutoring. Some schools use AI chatbots that answer student questions, while others use AI programs to help with writing and math. AI can make learning faster and easier, but some people worry that students might rely on it too much instead of thinking for themselves.
Is AI Good or Bad for Learning?
AI in education has both good and bad sides. One good thing is that AI can help students learn at their own pace. If a student doesn’t understand something, AI can explain it again in a different way. AI can also save teachers time by grading work quickly. However, some people worry that students might use AI to cheat instead of learning. Another problem is privacy—some AI tools collect student data, and people wonder if that is safe. AI should be used carefully so that it helps students learn, not replace real learning.
How is AI Used in Schools?
Our Experience with AI in Education
Tabarek and I have explored AI use in education to find if it is helpful or harmful for students. While AI can explain things in detail, give you quick answers, or even write a test, it can be also be problematic. AI can lead students to teach, it can give false answers, and students are losing a key aspect of the learning process. Also, AI collects data on students, which is a big privacy concern.
We have been learning about how AI is used in schools and whether it is helpful or harmful for students. AI can be really useful – it can explain things in different ways, grade tests quickly, and even act like a tutor. But there are also some problems. Some students might use AI to cheat, and teachers worry that students won’t think for themselves. Another big concern is privacy because AI collects student data.
In our research we saw an article by Clugston (2024) explains that AI in education has both good and bad sides. On the positive side, AI helps students by personalizing learning, meaning it can adjust lessons to match each student’s needs. This can make learning easier and more engaging. AI also helps teachers by automating tasks like grading, so they have more time to teach. However, there are concerns too. AI collects a lot of student data, which raises privacy issues. Also, if schools rely too much on AI, students might miss out on real human interaction, which is important for building social and thinking skills.
Also, we found that many teachers are unsure about using AI in schools. A survey by the Pew Research Center (2024) showed that 25% of public K-12 teachers think AI tools do more harm than good in education, while only 6% believe they do more good than harm. Additionally, 32% feel there’s an equal mix of benefits and drawbacks, and 35% are uncertain. This uncertainty suggests that while AI has potential, educators are cautious about its role in teaching.
Matthews (2024) talks about how AI can be both helpful and harmful in schools. He says AI can help students learn by giving quick feedback and explaining things in different ways. But, he also warns that students might start using AI to do their work for them instead of thinking for themselves. He believes that AI should be a learning tool, not a way to cheat. Schools need to teach students how to use AI the right way so it helps them learn and not just find quick answers.
At the end, this research opened our eyes to both the good and bad sides of AI in education. AI can make learning easier and more personal, but it also brings challenges like cheating and privacy issues. Some teachers are excited about AI, while others aren’t sure if it’s a good idea. We learned that AI isn’t just good or bad – it depends on how we use it. Schools need to find the right balance so AI helps students without replacing real learning.
In Unveiling the shadows: Beyond the hype of AI in education, Al-Zahrani (2024) provides the findings of a large study on AI use in education. Here are the critical findings that the study found and what we think may be potential repercussions that could follow:
Loss of human connection:
“AI’s impact on personal ties between students and educators is cause for worry” because it may lead to students feeling a reduction in their sense of support and emotional connections. It also reduces personalization and individual attention in the learning experience.
Potential Repercussions: Personalization is all about individuality and having a specific way that you learn individually. A lack of this may lead to the learner missing out on key parts on finding their identity and building skills. If the learner is always using ChatGPT’s answers and using AI as a basis of completing work, how are they going to learn what works for them when on their own. It is important for a student to know their strengths, for example, problem solving. Outside of school when there are real world problems infront of them, ChatGPT will not know everything about the situation. For example if the student was at work, and they had to resolve a conflict between two coworkers, they may be better equipped to solve the issue if they had grown their problem solving skills. In this situation they could not just add the problem into ChatGPT without giving it extreme detail and context, which even at that point would still not be the same as if the student had the skill themselves.
Reduced critical thinking and creativity:
AI systems provide predefined answers which can prevent students from engaging in critical analysis or creative expression. This can reduce innovation and original thought.
Potential Repercussions: By using AI students may be missing out on building and strengthening key skills with creativity and critical analysis. This can lead to a lack of variety and fun in their future as they may have a reduced ability to find happiness in things. It also will affect their ability to problem solve and draw conclusions from things if they can’t find key pieces of information that they had previously been relying on ChatGPT for.
Unequal access and technological divide:
AI poses the risk of widening gaps in education opportunities because of uneven access to advanced technologies.
Potential Repercussions: This unequal access can enhance disparities for different demographics as geographical location and socioeconomic status play a role in the ability to access artificial intelligence technologies. This can further expand the gap between the rich and poor, and the privileged and non privileged people/societies.
Teacher professional development and role:
Ongoing training and development for teachers is suggested to help adapt and skillfully integrate AI into their teaching. This can help keep the critical role that teachers play in steering student learning.
Potential Repercussions: Teachers have their own journey in the education system as well. With the fast and rapidly growing implementation of AI into the school system, there is a lot of adjusting and learning that has to be done by the teachers themselves. If teachers are successfully trained and informed on these technologies, and can implement them effectively, they can find a way to continue to be involved in the learning process, while still using artificial intelligence. For example, if a teacher includes a part of an assignment to be completed by the use of AI, then they will be involved and aware of its use and therefore involved in the learning process.
References
Al-Zahrani, A. M. (2024). Unveiling the shadows: Beyond the hype of AI in Education. Heliyon, 10(9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30696
Clugston, B. (2024, July 19). Advantages and disadvantages of AI in education. University Canada West.
https://www.ucanwest.ca/blog/education-careers-tips/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-ai-in-education
LUONA, L. (2024, May 15). A quarter of U.S. teachers say AI tools do more harm than good in K-12 education. Pew. Research Center.
Matthews, P. (2024, July 22). AI in schools: Cheater or tutor? TEDx Talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgqiGuIV6-Q