5 Essential Ways AI Can Help Educators: Practical Tips and Resources

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Artificial intelligence is the most widely debated technology in the realm of education. Many teachers fear that one day machines will replace them as more efficient and unbiased educators. Others argue that such a scenario is highly unlikely because what digital teachers lack is the human touch. "We cannot outsource our responsibilities to machines," says a techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci. "We must hold on ever tighter to human values and human ethics." In any case, this cutting-edge technology is here to stay, so we have no choice but to learn to be friends with it. Humans and AI can work together to create a more accessible and flexible system of education. 

Iconic chess player Garry Kasparov said in his TED-talk on artificial intelligence that we must face our fears if we want to get the most out of technology - and we must conquer those fears if we want to get the best out of humanity. Working together with AI can help us make the world a better place, but trying to ignore its potential will only stunt the progress of education. And here we are speaking not only about new opportunities. The teachers bear the responsibility to prepare their students for the future. Finding your way around a new technology can be challenging. That is why we have compiled for you a list of best AI services that can be used in your classroom and outside of it. We hope our suggestions will also be helpful for those who have already tried working with this fascinating technology and wish to diversify their experience.    

1. Personal Approach, Tutoring, and 24/7 Support

Many teachers are famous for being workaholics, always ready to help their students. But you can hardly find a human teacher that can work around-the-clock. Luckily, AI can come to the teacher's rescue. Several companies are currently working on AI-based digital tutors that can provide instruction, testing, and feedback on a 24/7 basis. For example, MATHiaU from Carnegie Learning is a 1-to-1 math coach for college students. It facilitates personalized remedial training. Another similar app, Photomath, uses AI to interpret math problems offering step-by-step explanations. One more good example is an AI-powered app Socratic. Its aim is to help students with learning science, math, literature, social studies, etc. 

But if the student is in need of an even higher level of individualization, the human touch is a must: ultimately, personalized homework help is offered at do my paper service. Students can use sample essays as illustrative models that clearly visualize the key strategies of academic writing.

A comprehensive educational solution based on AI has been developed by Netex Learning. Their products learningCloud and contentCloud make use of this pioneering technology to help educators engage and empower their students with the help of electronic curriculums, online assistance programs, and an extensive library of audios and videos.

2. Making Education Universally Accessible

In his Foreword to the 1999 Unicef Report, Kofi Annan wrote that "education is a human right with immense power to transform." Artificial intelligence tools can make high-quality education more accessible to students from around the world. Google Translate is a constantly evolving statistical and neural machine translation service that can translate between English and over 100 other languages. It has a smart feature Word Lens that can help you literally see the world in your own language.

Microsoft Translator for Education provides free resources, tools, and guides that will allow you to create an inclusive classroom supporting your students' learning with live translation and captions. One of the extremely useful solutions from Microsoft is a talking camera Seeing AI. It is a free app that makes use of AI technology to describe the world around a blind person or an individual with low vision. 

3. Language Learning Experts

English is not only the universal lingua franca but also the language of education today. AI-based apps help learners from every corner of the world master this powerful tool that can create new educational opportunities for them. Best apps include ELSA Speak that uses short dialogues to engage learners and DuoLingo, a digital teacher that can correct mistakes and make suggestions for further study. A fun and lively way to learn English is chatting with AI-powered Duolingo Bots.

4. Gamify it!

According to Anant Agarwal, the head of edX, the future of education depends on how successfully we can introduce gamification into our classrooms. Turning the process of study into a fun game will increase students' internal motivation. You can gamify the learning process with the Education Edition of Minecraft, a helpful online platform that opens the gateway to coding and artificial intelligence for younger learners. Another great way to make your classes more engaging with AI-powered tools is to arrange an online treasure hunt or a quest using virtual assistants such as DataBot and Hound.

5. Research, Writing, and Editing Made Easy with AI

AI can help both teachers and their students make the process of research and writing much more effortless and productive. To get started, you can take notes or dictate your ideas to the legendary app Evernote. JSTOR, an academic online library that provides access to more than 12 million journal articles and books, is using AI to help you with your research. The library is currently beta-testing an innovative text analyzer that allows users to upload their own pieces of writing used by the intelligent search engine. When the paper is ready, Grammarly will help you effectively proof-read it. It will also provide clear explanations for the corrections that students can use to improve their writing skills. 

All in all, change is inevitable. But what will this change bring teachers? We cannot be sure, but we can be ready. Flexibility and adaptability are the qualities essential for the XXI century. We can help our students develop these qualities while leading by example. And, most importantly, we can teach them, in the words of MIT physicist and AI researcher Max Tegmark, to be "not overpowered but empowered" by the technology.