10 Roles For Artificial Intelligence In Education

For decades, science fiction authors, futurists, and movie makers alike have been predicting the amazing (and sometimes catastrophic) changes that will arise with the advent of widespread artificial intelligence. 

Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash

So far, AI hasn’t made any such crazy waves, and in many ways has quietly become ubiquitous in numerous aspects of our daily lives. From the intelligent sensors that help us take perfect pictures, to the automatic parking features in cars, to the sometimes frustrating personal assistants in smartphones, artificial intelligence of one kind of another is all around us, all the time.

Italian Airport Deploys Robots to Protect Against Contaminants

The Milan Malpensa International Airport in Italy is a major airport that welcomes over 20 million passengers each year. Their customers' safety is crucial, especially in these unprecedented times. To help protect travelers from contaminants such as COVID-19, they've decided to implement Connor UVC robot to systematically disinfect the Airport to help prevent the virus from spreading.

The Milan Malpensa Airport is the first Airport in Italy to deploy robots to clean and disinfect airport terminals. The Connor UVC Robots have already been tested and are actively at work targeting bacteria that are both in the air and on surfaces.

The Future Still Lies in Coding

Coding is enormous in education right now.

No wonder. Coding offers so many academic benefits that schools cannot ignore its significance.  Sequential processes, computational thinking, and creative problem-solving all make up coding. It’s the new literacy in schools. There’s so much to like about coding that coding academies and boot camps are springing up everywhere.

STEM, Coding, and Robotics summer ideas!

As calendar days tick by, summer are right around the corner. And with more sunshine and better conditions in sight, that means outdoor activities and camps are on the horizon.

7 Roles for Artificial Intelligence in Education

Artificial Intelligence is no longer just contained in science fiction films. It is increasingly becoming a significant part of our everyday lives. We already use tools like Siri and Amazon’s Alexa and are just beginning to see the possibilities of AI in education. And, we should expect to see more. The Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector 2017-2021 report suggests that experts expect AI in education to grow by “47.50% during the period 2017-2021.”

With the expected growth of AI in education, here is a glimpse into some of the roles it will play in the classroom.

At-Home Learning Throughout Summer

With the majority of schools across the country closed, many parents are feeling the stress of taking more active roles in their children’s education. As time away from the classroom extends into summer, parents also face the challenge of helping their children maintain what they’ve learned through a summer of uncertainty.

This year’s shift to at-home learning has provided plenty of resources parents can use to keep their children’s minds engaged and actively learning. The shift has also prompted families to create new routines and healthy learning habits. Continuing these best practices over the summer may prove beneficial in setting students up for success when they return to the classroom.

Virtual Reality Could Transform Education as We Know It

Virtual reality has been on the radar since Morton Heilig's Sensorama in the 1950s, and head mounted versions of the technology were even around in the 1960s. But it wasn't until recently that its use has become less of a novelty and more of a commonality. Console games and smartphone adapters have brought the potential of virtual reality into the lives of everyday people. And soon, that technology will enter the classroom.

Now, the big question is how these emerging technologies will transform education as we know it. While that question might not be fully answered for some time, it is easy to see the potential.

4 Ways Artificial Intelligence is Changing The Classroom

Artificial intelligence is both today’s ultimate breakthrough technology and a bit of a buzzword. It is, however, changing many facets of our lives, some of them quite noticeably. Whether AI is applied in business, industry, healthcare or education, it is often used as more or less an umbrella term, meaning that a product or system has something to do with big data, machine learning, pattern recognition and cognitive analysis, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, neural networks, and so on.

Individually or combined, these aspects of artificial intelligence proper can power a variety of tools, educational aids, and digital learning platforms. Their main objective is to assist, augment, and streamline the traditional classroom experience without necessarily disrupting its core processes (so no “sentient robots to take teachers’ jobs” or “artificial intelligence to replace educational systems” here, sorry).

With that in mind, here are four examples of real-life applications of AI changing the classroom, from established projects to soon-to-be-reality initiatives.

Learning Robotics at Home

It is pretty amazing to think about how far we’ve come with technology over the past three generations. Things our grandparents couldn’t even begin to imagine are now the things our children take for granted. With as far as we’ve come already, it can be hard to believe that we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible going into the future.

Opportunities for our children to make a difference in the quality of our lives using new technology are boundless. In particular, the field of robotics and robotics engineering is exploding and will likely be a major draw for young talent in the coming years. Giving your child the opportunity to “nerd-out” in robotics is fun for them now, but it has a very real potential to lead them straight into a dream career as well. And what a better opportunity to reinforce those skills during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine! 

Robotics is a ton of fun no matter what your background is in. If you are preparing your kiddo for their first robotics competition, here are some things to keep in mind. 

11 Engaging STEM Activities for Kids To do At Home

We at RobotLAB understand the importance of doing something with your kids and keep them entertained during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine. That's why we want to share with you eleven STEM activities to do at home!