From the impossible to possible!

During the renovation process of a library in my native village in South India, as part of our efforts to inculcate reading, especially among students, we were flooded with comments like “Why a library when knowledge is available at one’s fingertips”.

This reminded me of the prediction of a technology revolution in education during the height of the dot-com bubble a few years ago, in which it was said that the printed word would be replaced by the computer screen.

Yes, the time has changed. Not only is it easier to find any information online, but the information now comes in different formats. It is no longer necessary to go to the library and spend hours there searching for the desired data!

Today, massive amounts of information in the form of books, audio, images, and videos are available at one’s fingertips. This has become possible thanks to the increased availability of smart devices and web-based curricula.

The education sector is one of the primary beneficiaries of this rapid evolution in the technology world. It is playing an increasing role at all levels of education, from elementary school to higher education.

Look at the harrowing period of Covid-19 and how online education became a vital part of teaching and learning. When countries went on lockdown, all schools had to close immediately to avoid spreading the virus. During this crisis, we found an incredible amount of large-scale efforts to use technology in support of remote learning.

Undoubtedly, it was thanks to technology that what was once difficult became a reality for many as educational software tools allowed students and teachers to communicate and learn during the period of the pandemic.

In several countries in the world, classrooms provide students with access to devices like computers, laptops, and tablets, helping them develop their technological literacy and get comfortable using a variety of instructional materials, tools and programs for their own learning that is useful in life beyond school.

Aligning with the pace and depth of technological developments, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping educators improve their effectiveness and learning outcomes. They not only assist teachers but also make individualized learning more exciting.

The AI works with each student individually, making sure they are learning at their optimal pace. It helps students become more efficient learners due to its comprehensive understanding abilities which allows them to access new knowledge quickly.

They can find answers through easily accessible directories like Wikipedia or Google Scholar without having any gaps between educational materials that occur when using traditional methods such as books or lectures.

However, like many other applications, AI too has its dodges. We must keep safety issues at the front of our gaze and develop the necessary checks. The regulatory bodies that review and validate textbooks and other educational materials took significant time and investment to establish and sustain.

Students lose their ability to practice and learn social skills because they don’t come into contact with real people during class time. This makes it hard for them when they get out of school and need these types of interactions on the job or even just socially as adults.

AI has the potential to become addictive. Students could lose interest in learning because they are more interested in AI devices. We further know that children and youth are highly susceptible to manipulation, much more vulnerable than adults.

There are numerous examples of AI slipping out of the guard put in place by their creators and engaging in all sorts of activities that are inapt for children, and on the other hand, adversely affect them.

Finally, as one parent pointed out, there is the worry that as artificial Intelligence is being used to grade students’ assessments, there will be less incentive for them to work hard!