The Pros and Cons of AI in Schools
AI is advancing day by day, and schools are shifting into a new era of tech. Will teachers be replaced by an artificial entity? Will classrooms be transformed into a virtual place – with a room dazzled with Virtual Reality.
It is becoming very certain that Artificial Intelligence may take over schools in the future. Many students are using AI, and schools across the globe are noticing this. It may replace teachers soon. Some teachers use AI to create worksheets and mark pieces of work, but it is unlikely that they will take over now.
Children might get addicted to Artificial Intelligence, as they might use it to complete homework, assignments, and schoolwork. It is not good if students rely solely on AI to help them in schoolwork, because it will not help students in the long term. For example, if a student uses AI all of the time, in an examination, they may be stuck as they relied on AI to complete their homework. This results in bad grades for the student, and in the long term, may even impact their profession in the future.
So, if AI does get used in schools, it should be used with caution. According to John Arthur Brownings, ‘Children will learn better without Artificial Intelligence. At home, it is key for students to not use AI for everything. Even if you do you should be aware. Schools are also making sure that students’ work isn’t AI by using detectors, but children now have AI Humanisers. This is important to understand that children will do anything to get away from work. So, to make sure that they do the work you give them it is key to hide Artificial Intelligence.
Whereas it can be a great use as making timetables, enrolment, automatic processing and admissions processing. These are great ideas for using Artificial Intelligence and all AI wants is to please you with right answers. It may not be true, so fact checking is very important. Other topics consist of facility management and sustainability, school safety and IT security etc.
Although it is still in an early and experimental phase, in the past few years, there have been major advancements in AI, with some AI tools being used in UK schools. AI is becoming increasingly embedded in society by the day. As stated by the UK Parliament’s website, ‘AI has various opportunities to be used by teachers in education, such as:
- Ideas for lesson plans and other activities
- Reducing workloads (including marking)
It also has opportunities for students, such as:
- Giving ideas, such as creating essay structures
- Assisting with language barriers
- Providing feedback
- Developing thinking, creativity, curiosity, and collaboration skills’
AI also does make sure that things are organised which is useful for those who are very disorganised. Also, this means that people will use Artificial Intelligence for organising every little detail making people lazy. Which shows that people overall make things to use for their own benefit.
According to Stephen J. Aguilar – associate professor at the USC Rossier School of Education – ‘Generative AI is here and already having an impact. What matters now is whether we use it to deepen learning or avoid it.’
However, the United Kingdom’s Department of Education states that teachers will ‘absolutely not’ be replaced by AI. ‘Teachers are irreplaceable, and AI could never be a substitute for teachers’ professional judgment and the personal relationships they have with their students. We are developing AI tools specifically to support teachers, not to replace the unique role they play in education.’
The Department for Education also states that ‘it is up to schools and colleges to decide if students can use AI, but they need to have the right safeguards in place. That means close supervision, using tools with safety and filtering features, and making sure students stick to age restrictions.’
Discovery Education states there are many pros and cons when using Artificial Intelligence.
Pros:
- Enhanced personalized learning – AI automatically adjusts content, giving students targeted learning.
- Reduced teacher workload – It helps plan lessons, summarises topics, creates worksheets, and mark pieces of work.
- Immediate student feedback – Students can revise and receive feedback right away, rather than waiting for the next class.
- Increased accessibility – AI removes barriers by translating, removing language barriers.
- Better use of data – AI helps schools process large amounts of data and highlights patterns that a human being can easily miss.
- Increasing student engagement – When used correctly, AI can engage students to learn in a fun way. For example, it can create simulations for the class.
Cons:
- Protecting student data – AI tools need student information. People need to know if the data is collected in a safe way.
- Unclear responses – Unclear responses can lead to misinformation spreading in the school.
- Over-reliance on technology – if students solely rely on AI, it would not help them in assessments, as they would not be allowed to use it in exams.
- Misleading responses – Could affect the grades of students.
Reported by Mohammad H and Baqir M