Summary:

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) consists of the theory and development of systems which have
the capabilities to perform tasks traditionally performed by humans. This technology has the
potential to have significant impacts on many industries. According to an ​article​ appearing in
Silicon Republic, eighty-five percent of company executives believe that A.I. will give their
workers a competitive advantage over workers without access to “smart” devices. In the world of
education, the implementation of A.I. is by no means widespread in our nation’s schools.
However, in studies conducted around the country students who have been given access to A.I.
have experienced growth in understanding and competency in skills. With that being said, there
are obstacles that will impede the implementation of A.I. in classrooms.
In the studies that were examined as part of this assignment, there was a common
theme among them all which was the personalization that became possible for all learners
regardless of the context in which the technology was implemented. The high degree of
personalization permitted learners with deficiencies to begin overcoming their shortcomings in
meeting standards while learners who might be labeled as accelerated or gifted were also able
to be challenged intellectually. As education continues to move toward learning environments
that are “de-tracked” and inclusive hosting a wide variety of learners, it can be a overwhelming
task for an educator to meet the demands of each student successfully. In several of the studies
that were reviewed the A.I. implemented in the learning environment was able to learn the
strengths and weaknesses of each user through on-going formative assessment which
permitted the software of these devices to custom tailor an educational program to the user.
A second commonality among these studies was A.I.’s ability to create learning
opportunities that would be difficult for the instructor, or teacher, to create in reality. For
example, in one study students were given the opportunity to converse with virtual individuals
from other regions of the world. The unique cultural characteristics of communication, both
verbal and nonverbal, provided students with a fairly realistic opportunity to gain knowledge and
experience in interacting with people who are culturally diverse. The future labor market will
consist of jobs in which American students are exponentially more likely to interact with workers
from regions of the world such as South Asia and East Asia. Successfully communicating in a
global community is a cornerstone of the 21st-century skills addressed in the ​4 C’s framework​.
Despite the amazing results that were evident in several of the studies, a lack of training
and familiarization with A.I. devices among teachers leads to improper implementation and a
lack of support for students resulting in less than optimal benefits. Some districts around the
country are fortunate enough to have room in the budget for educational technology coaches to
assist teachers with familiarization and implementation, however, that is not consistent across
all districts. Another obstacle to widespread implementation of A.I. is the inconsistencies in
access to the internet in our nation’s schools. According to ​educationsuperhighway.org​, 2.3
million students and over a thousand schools lack access to a stable high-speed internet
connection. Without a connection to the internet, much of the A.I. tools included in my research
either don’t function at all or lack several key functions that help students.
 The final issue addressed in this body of research is how will schools handle the
numerous privacy concerns that are associated with A.I.? Artificial intelligence is heavily
dependent upon collecting significant amounts of data about users in order for the systems to
learn about the user and develop customizations to each individual user. Given the need for an
internet connection, these devices are susceptible to being hacked for parties outside the
school’s organization. Additionally, some companies developing A.I. tools might look to further
their profits by selling student data to companies who will use that data to develop other
products. These potential issues raise several serious concerns for district administrators,
education technology specialists, teachers, students, and parents.

For additional information on A.I. in education check out the following:

● OpenA.I. blog
○ OpenAI is a non-profit organization conducting research on the development and
implementation of safe and responsible artificial intelligence.
● Machine Learning Mastery Blog
○ Blog developed and maintained by Jason Brownlee PhD. His blog contains many
sources on deep learning and articles related to the latest developments in
machine learning.
● AI keynote speaker, Stefania Druga, Digital Summit for Teachers 2019
○ The speaker addresses the challenges and opportunties associated with A.I. in
education.

Articles reviewed:

Calvo, R. A., & Dmello, S. (2012). Frontiers of Affect-Aware Learning Technologies. ​IEEE
Intelligent Systems,27​(6), 86-89. doi:10.1109/mis.2012.110

Lane, H. C., Hays, M. J., Core, M. G., & Auerbach, D. (2013). Learning intercultural
communication skills with virtual humans: Feedback and fidelity. ​Journal of Educational
Psychology,105(​ 4), 1026-1035. doi:10.1037/a0031506

Pierce, D., & Hathaway, A. (2018, August 29). The Promise (and Pitfalls) of AI for Education --
THE Journal. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from
https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/08/29/the-promise-of-ai-for-education.aspx

Roscoe, R. D., & Mcnamara, D. S. (2013). Writing pal: Feasibility of an intelligent writing
strategy tutor in the high school classroom. ​Journal of Educational Psychology,105(​ 4),
1010-1025. doi:10.1037/a0032340
Walkington, C. A. (2013). Using adaptive learning technologies to personalize instruction to
student interests: The impact of relevant contexts on performance and learning
outcomes. ​Journal of Educational Psychology,105(​ 4), 932-945. doi:10.1037/a0031882