What Is AI-Powered Personalized Learning and How to Implement It

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been revolutionizing various industries in a whole host of ways.

But how is it affecting education?

One of the most significant advancements AI has brought to education is AI-powered personalized learning. With the use of AI, educational experiences can be automatically tailored to individual student needs, preferences, and learning paces.

Through this, learning can not only become more engaging and fruitful for students, but it can also make teachers’ and school administrators’ jobs far easier.

Understanding AI-Powered Personalized Learning

AI-powered personalized learning refers to the use of AI to analyze students’ performance, learning style, and educational progress.

With AI’s ability to analyze large data sets at once, it can efficiently generate insights about students. Not to mention that such insights come purely from data analysis—and are not potentially muddled by human biases (such as when teachers’ evaluate students).

AI can, for example, recommend specific learning resources to each student, depending on their learning style. Or provide real-time feedback on quizzes, essays, or assignments.

A study from the International Journal of Educational Research Open shows that the more personalized learning is, the more students enjoy it. They engage with learning more, which is empowering them in the process.

Several educational platforms have already successfully integrated AI to personalize learning, such as:

• QANDA

QANDA uses AI-powered optical character recognition technology to scan math problems and then provide step-by-step solutions.

• Squirrel AI Learning

Squirrel offers AI-powered smart learning tablets that give children personalized lessons   that adjust to their input in real-time.

• Ello

Ello uses AI to help children in kindergarten to 3rd grade read. The technology listens to kids read aloud and corrects their mistakes on the fly.

Implementing AI-Powered Personalized Learning

So how can educational institutions—or even businesses training their employees—effectively integrate AI into their teaching methods?

1. Assess Institutional Readiness

Before jumping into AI, institutions need to assess how ready they are for AI use. They need to have suitable or sufficient:

• Technological infrastructure;
• Faculty expertise;
• Budget

This will determine the extent to which AI can or should be implemented.

1. Define Clear Objectives

AI implementation can’t be aimless. Institutions need to determine their exact goal and the specific ways they seek to implement AI.

Common goals include:

• Improving student engagement;
• Improving student outcomes;
• Streamlining administrative tasks.

Of course, schools and businesses can have all these goals at once. However, they will still need to ground such goals in the specific context of their institution.

1. Select Suitable AI Tools

Then, it’s time to choose the right tools for both the institution’s capability and goals. For example, they can use some of the services mentioned above.

Or look into small language models (SLM), which are both cheaper and potentially better than large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT, given the niche application of education.

Larger institutions, such as universities or research centers, can even look to develop their own AI programs.

1. Pilot the AI Integration

Before fully committing and making large adjustments to accommodate AI use, schools need to start with a pilot program.

Performing small-scale implementations in a controlled environment allows them to gauge effectiveness and feasibility, identify any issues, or finetune the program or tool.

1. Provide Training and Support

At the end of the day, AI is just a tool. Educators are still responsible for educating students themselves. They must be trained to use these tools well and be provided support for any issues that arise.

1. Monitor and Evaluate

As the AI program gets rolled out, school or training authorities will need to monitor and regularly assess it.

There will be learning curves and adjustment periods for teachers and students alike, and things must be periodically modified to better suit their needs.

Challenges and Considerations

AI can offer incredible, unprecedented benefits for learning—but it’s not magic. Using it also presents serious challenges that need to be considered.

• Data Privacy

AI systems use people’s data for all its processes. And so using AI will require a lot of data to be gathered from students. Ensuring that their data privacy is protected should be a top priority.

Schools will need to conduct cybersecurity measures, such as providing a VPN for Macbook, Windows, or mobile (or whatever system their students may use).

• Equity and Access

AI, as a new technology, is expensive. Not every school or student will have the resources for it.

There is the risk of AI in education worsening existing inequalities in education and, consequently, society at large.

• Teacher Roles

As it does with many other industries, AI may alter jobs in the education sector in more ways than one. Teachers, for example, may need to focus more on facilitating classrooms or providing human interaction—things that AI cannot do.

• Technological Limitations

AI is not infallible and will be incredibly limited when trying to understand the context or navigate the nuance of education. These tools need not only constant evaluation and improvement but also constant and critical human oversight.

Conclusion: AI is Just a Tool

AI is a powerful tool, but at the end of the day, it’s just a tool.

How much of a force for good in education AI can be is still reliant on how we use it. Education, after all, is an incredibly delicate and human process.

Education is not just about memorizing information—it’s about understanding it and its nuance, context, and application in the real world.

And for that, we will always need educators who not only can wield AI with care and precision, but also have the heart and mind for molding our youth.