In recent years, education technology has propelled itself further into the future than most could have predicted. Edtech solutions have multiplied in number and a large share of them are incorporating artificial intelligence into their products. It’s an exciting time for educators as they learn to harness the power of AI technologies to enhance their work, but how exactly are they using it?
Preply, an online tutoring platform, recently conducted a global survey of more than 3,500 participants (including more than 1,00 educators) to better understand the importance of human interaction in learning in the age of AI.
One of the most significant findings suggests learners desire a human connection throughout their academic development, despite AI’s prevalence in K12 education. In fact, nearly 70% of respondents from the U.S.A. agree about the importance of human interaction and guidance in the learning process.
“AI’s ability to scale and personalize means there’s no doubt it will superpower the learning ecosystems of the future,” the co-founder and CEO of Preply, Kirill Bigai, said in a statement. “While we see immense interest and higher-than-expected adoption of proprietary AI tools at Preply, we are still at the beginning of this journey.”
Respondents’ preferences for the human connection in learning can be attributed to a number of AI-related fears, including:
- A decrease in motivation as a result of a lack of human connection (32%)
- Data privacy (12%)
- Mistrust in AI accuracy and worries about a learning experience not being personalized to their needs (9% respectively)
However, respondents still recognized AI’s value in the learning process. They believe it has tremendous benefits for students because it’s affordable (47%), as well as:
- Convenient for on-demand learning (45%)
- Capable of providing tailored learning opportunities (45%)
- Able to give immediate feedback (39%)
- Helps students learn faster (38%)
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AI’s potential is also seen by teachers who are using it in several ways to streamline their tasks. According to the survey, these are the top 10 most prominent uses of AI tools for teachers around the globe:
- Creating grammar/vocabulary exercises (41%)
- Language training assistance (36%)
- Creating reading/listening activities (35%)
- Creating model texts for writing (34%)
- Creating lesson plans (33%)
- Creating course plans (32%)
- Leveraging intelligent chatbots for answering student queries (29%)
- Speech recognition for pronunciation practice (28%)
- Automated grading of assignments (27%)
