How AI/ML can play a major role in channelizing remote education in times like these

Global pandemics like Chikungunya, Ebola Virus, SARS, Zika Virus, and now COVID-19 have shrouded various parts of the world, leaving them in a state of turmoil. Governments across countries have ordered complete lockdown, leaving adults and children trapped in their homes. The global economy is experiencing a slump like never before. The situation, which is getting beyond control, has profoundly affected global businesses and the education sector.

Children and old age people, due to their low immunity, are most affected by the contagious disease. To prevent the disease from spreading further, the WHO (World Health Organization) advised limiting human intervention. As a result, schools, universities, and coaching classes across the world have been shut, creating panic and anxiety among parents, teachers, students, and educators.

The disruption in education affected students’ learning resulting in a loss of their life’s precious time. The only option viable for the students and learners in the wrecked situation was to switch to online modes of learning and preparing. With a massive surge in the number of users, it is the EdTech sector that has managed to face the unsettled economy by providing free access to their learning platforms.

The situation of havoc is a perfect time for these EdTech startups to enhance the efficacy of their products and services. One such solution that has opened new opportunities for them is the integration of Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning with their platforms in channelizing remote education.

AI in Education: a boon in disguise

India, the second-largest country in terms of population, immensely lags in the number of education specialists available. The best solution to this is moving proactively towards remote learning. One of the government initiatives taken in this direction is the SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Youthful aspiring minds), which makes learning material accessible for teachers as well as students using cloud computing.

The integration of AI by e-learning platforms to their core products and services enables customization of the entire learning experience as well as saves a lot of time. A perfect collaboration between AI and e-learning products expands the users’ rate of engagement by making the online sessions much more interactive.

AI plays a significant role in providing teachers and tutors more time to monitor how individual students are using the concepts. The involvement of modern devices makes learning much more personalized by customizing the content for each student, depending on their skills and capabilities, even in times of remote learning.

Though remote learning seems to be attractive in times like these, it appears that organizing the learning processes is difficult in a remote learning scenario. This is where AI or machine learning comes into play too. Managing and coordinating the curriculum with the help of artificial intelligence is a much more comfortable and advanced solution. Effective management of the learning process makes these remote learning sessions engaging and enjoyable for both the teachers as well as the students.

Incorporation of machine learning to education helps in better analysis of a student’s capabilities and performance. There are smart programs that analyze a student’s strengths and weaknesses, predicting their future performance. This, in turn, enables teachers to make a study plan focusing on the weaker areas of a student, which is not possible in the traditional classroom structure of education.

The problem of a biased grading system is also solved with the successful integration of AI to education when imparted remotely. This increases the trust in the education system as the prejudice of teachers towards a specific student no longer affects the score of those deserving.

The entire process of imparting education, assessment, and evaluation of student’s performance, setting of tests and exam papers, and tracking the performance of each student becomes simple and less time-consuming. In turn, teachers and educators are left with more time to focus on improving the teaching quality and aptitude development.

AI and remote learning, though, have emerged as a solution to the current situation, have a long way to go in the future.

With opportunities come challenges

Remote learning and integration of AI in the Indian education system have emerged as a profitable solution in a tough time like these. But with every opportunity, what comes along is a set of challenges that need to be met for its proper implementation. Remote learning seems to be a lucrative solution, which again leaves us questioning whether it is possible on a large scale or not. A significant chunk of the students comes from an area where internet connectivity is an issue.

Though the mobile penetration in the country has increased, what remains to be a challenge is the digital divide prevailing in Indian society. Limited data usage, unavailability of laptops and tablets, lack of access to digital resources, and e-libraries are some primary hurdles that need to be resolved before remote learning becomes the norm.

This article is written by Beas Dev Ralhan, CEO and Co-Founder, Next Education India Pvt Ltd.