Since making headlines earlier this year, ChatGPT has dominated the national discourse on the topic of AI in the classroom. Ask anyone their opinion on the use of artificial intelligence in schools and you’re likely to get an earful about the hotly debated chatbot.
But ChatGPT represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI’s potential to transform education. With the controversy around ChatGPT threatening to skew public perception about educational AI—or overshadow it entirely—we have a responsibility to consider the bigger picture.
After all, AI is already radically transforming education for the better through countless applications beyond ChatGPT. Working with Merlyn Mind, the maker of the world’s first AI-powered digital assistant for teachers, we’ve witnessed firsthand the profound impact AI technology is making in schools nationwide. Here are three constructive ways to use AI in the classroom.
1. AI in the classroom streamlines the workflow
In most classrooms today, teachers are so busy with administrative tasks that they don’t always have the bandwidth to focus on student equity priorities. From setting up slideshows and retrieving video clips to posting student assignments, class time is filled with an infinite number of small tactical chores that exacerbate teacher burnout and turn educators’ attention away from students. These types of tasks often come with tools meant to help teachers, but they can disrupt the flow of a lesson, diverting attention away from a room full of students.
Teachers can benefit hugely from AI technology that can streamline this workflow. For example, instead of interrupting the flow of the class to pull up this or that video or document, teachers can simply ask an AI-powered voice assistant to pull it up.
It’s critical that an AI tool in this situation understands the classroom setting and can differentiate between key phrases used in a classroom context from general class noise. This way, teachers can stay engaged with their class without having to worry about a technical interruption scattering the classroom’s attention, which further benefits the workflow.
This is the vision of what deep learning technology can do in education: smooth gaps for teachers so that avoidable hassles are eliminated, so they can focus on the most critical elements of teaching.
2. Increasing equity in the classroom
Our recent U.S. State of Technology in Education Report revealed that 32% of educators ranked digital equity and tech access as their priority in 2022-23.
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Addressing education inequality in the classroom is a uniquely human pursuit. Teachers can recognize cultural complexities and individual circumstances such as immigration status, food and housing security, and neurodiversity, and then provide empathy, compassion, and nuanced support in ways machines cannot.
AI-powered classroom technology is poised to help schools make meaningful progress toward their equity goals by giving teachers the support they need. With the help of a voice-activated digital assistant, for instance, teachers can pull up materials and assignments with just a simple spoken request as they move about the classroom to meet each student where they are. This technology can also improve accessibility for those with disabilities, improving the learning experience for students who are vision-impaired or have mobility limitations.
By reducing the time they need to spend on administrative tasks, AI frees teachers up to focus on the cultural and equity dimensions of learning that only a human can address.
3. Creating student-centered, personalized learning environments
Students are more engaged when they are empowered to direct their own learning experience—and studies show that student engagement translates to academic success. One 2019 student poll revealed that student engagement is positively related to academic progress, and an even more recent 2022 study found a “significant relationship” between engagement and mathematical achievement.
In a student-centered classroom, teachers act as facilitators, consultants, and collaborators, rather than directors. AI facilitates this relationship by giving students more opportunities to sit in the driver’s seat. For example, AI-powered lesson delivery software allows students to navigate learning at their own pace, moving through materials in a self-directed manner with the teacher offering individual support as needed.
A student requiring additional support can turn to an AI tutor that can efficiently hone in on the specific lesson material the student is finding challenging and provide customized guidance matched to their needs. For students who move through lessons at a faster pace, AI can provide additional materials and assignments to ensure that each student is able to exercise their full academic potential.
Preparing our students for an AI-powered future
AI has already radically transformed our world and will play an increasingly influential role in shaping our future. Market research has shown that global AI adoption is growing steadily and most companies either plan to leverage AI or already use the technology. To equip students for the AI-powered world of tomorrow, we must embrace AI in the classroom today.
It’s not just about giving students experience with new technologies. As we continue to outsource tasks that AI can do exceptionally well, we’ll need to refocus education on skill building around what is uniquely human—the things humans can do that AI can’t—to best prepare students for life beyond school.
While the buzz around ChatGPT may have confused the larger role AI is poised to play in our schools, it has also led to important discussions around AI utility. We have a responsibility to students to best prepare them for the world they will inherit, which means giving due consideration to constructive uses of AI in the classroom, and expediting their adoption.
