Abstract
Due to the undeniable increase in the impact that artificial intelligence systems have on numerous aspects of society, the teaching-learning process is increasingly influenced by these, producing the need to know the participating agents and applicable approaches for their implementation. Therefore, the main purpose of this chapter is to obtain an overview of the elements and challenges involved in the application of artificial intelligent devices in education. In this sense, the information presented below characterizes some of these systems through the way in which they personalize learning based on the peculiarities of the students and makes specific reference to the operation of some of them, such as the intelligent tutor system and exploratory learning environments.
TopIntroduction
It is undeniable the fact that we live in an era in which both economy and society are globalised and linked to the improvement of technology and knowledge. In this sense, just as the typewriter evolved into a computer or mobile phones became smartphones, advances in science and technology have allowed everyday analogue objects to become true automaton products that allow people to solve problems and situations more quickly and efficiently (Livia & Kaku, 2013). It could be said that the globalized world in which we find ourselves in and the current technological revolution are focused on optimizing certain tasks and processes, both at an industrial, domestic and educational level by using technology. On a first look, this optimization and automation that has been referred to is one of the purposes of technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI from now on), by which computers and computer programs are capable in many cases, of learning and making decisions by themselves, even carrying out operations that, before the appearance of these technologies, could only be developed by humans (Rouhiainen, 2018). This idea has involved the cohesion of different sciences and services into devices with certain functions or even, capable of performing several of them at the same time. Examples of this could be the incorporation of voice recognition, image or even augmented reality elements. In a generalized way, it seems that AI products that are currently available to most educational communities in developed countries are based on the use of support elements to provide support for problem solving, for example, smart assistants at home or custom tutors to learners (Yufei, 2020).
The global use of technology involves the collection and treatment of a great amount of users’ data, which is currently generating a lot of controversy due to the fact that, on many occasions it is considered that citizens accept the use of their personal information because of the complicated and desperate moments such as be due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Ribeiro-Navarrete et al., 2021) because they tend to seek quick solutions to their problems because they have bigger concerns to address. As referenced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2021), hereinafter UNESCO, it seems logical to think that if technological development is accelerating globally and it presents a clear trend towards its incorporation in many areas of society, citizens must be prepared to assume the changes that this implies and therefore, government policies must be aimed at ensuring the technological capabilities of the population. The latter is necessarily linked to the educational system and hence, these policies and trends should provide and guarantee the resources to make this possible. In this sense, both governments and schools are increasingly paying more attention to developing programs and agreements that include AI products (Malik et al., 2019).
In general terms, as cited by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developmen (2016), hereinafter OECD, the education of citizens must be aimed to an integral development of students, problem solving, collaborative work, and the development of communication skills, that is, towards the achievement of citizens capable of being above any form of AI and also of being able to improve the latter based on their own interests. Along with that, it is essential to highlight that the interest in the proper educational training of citizens should not reside in the fear of being replaced by some type of artificial intelligence that will make them lose their jobs, but should focus on developing skills that allow man to take the advantage of technology-rich environments, understand it and improve it (Arntz et al., 2016). A good approach to the use of these technologies could be the substitution of repetitive tasks within a certain job, allowing the person to dedicate their time to more specialized and creative activities that require it (Baker et al., 2019; Fahimirad & Kotamjani, 2018; UNESCO, 2021). Regarding education, an example could be the time saving that the AI would save a teacher to carry out the automatic correction of a multiple-choice exam and use the time that this task would have taken in preparing feedback tasks for each student according to the bugs reported by the program. In this sense, AI is expected to help teachers and promote the transformation of teaching models from knowledge transfer to knowledge construction (Holmes et al., 2018; Liua et al., 2021).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Inquiry Learning: Type of learning by which students receive a sequence of elements such as images, questions, or unsolved challenges, which allow them to build their own knowledge through inquiry, reflection, and experience.
Step-by-Step Learning Approach: Way of organizing learning through organized sequences of content and activities.
Exploratory Learning Approach: Way of organizing learning through content and activities that the student himself organizes for his work.
Feedback: Process of informing a person during their learning about how they are doing a certain activity through the identification of their strengths and weaknesses.
Student’s Data Mining: Process by which personal information is collected from students for the purpose of tailoring their learning.
Learning Processes: Methods with specific characteristics by which a person acquires new knowledge to be able to apply it in real contexts.
Education: Process by which one develops abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour considered to have value in the society in which one lives.
Intelligent Tutor System: Tool assisted by artificial intelligence that allows to guide a student during their learning process through step-by-step approaches.
Exploratory Learning Environments: Toll assisted by artificial intelligence that allows to guide a student during their learning process through an inquiry approach.