🌟 110 – The Role of Human Connection in Education: Navigating the AI Era
As educators 🍎 and parents 👨👩👧👦 of learners in the new AI era, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment.
Experience Share—a school principal in one of my online education groups recently posted that a pilot school in Texas had offered him a position as the sole human educator 👨🏫 for an entire school, with AI taking on the role of all of the teaching staff. 🤖🏫
I was completely shocked 😲—he of course turned down the position. I mean, really, what educator on the planet in their right mind would want to take on the role as the only human at a school, with only AI instructors for support? The idea is completely ludicrous. 🤔
Don’t get me wrong. There are so many amazing things that we can do with AI 🌐 to enhance our current education programs, and I myself love education technology. But what Einstein thinks that relegating populations of learners to a low-budget education approach devoid of human connection is going to enhance their educational experience and success?
I get frustrated enough just talking to corporate chatbots where the virtual agent is Sally, or Belinda, or Anna, and they’re trying to manipulate me into solving my own problem ten different ways for 15 minutes before it will put me through to an actual human customer service agent 🙄. I mean, who among us is loving that experience? But if I, as an adult, become frustrated trying to navigate communications with virtual bots when I need assistance with a problem, how in the world are younger learners supposed to do this as the only component in their education plan? 🤷♂️👦
In the early days of correspondence courses, which were the precursors to modern e-learning, students would mail 📬in their assignments to a teacher who was a marker. But these courses were plagued by crazy high incompletion rates.
For students, engaging with the course content in isolation, without the connection, without the support of their fellow learners, and without a true teacher, led to a sense of disconnect and was so demotivating that many just didn’t finish their courses at all. And the same thing happened to many learners trying to complete their education in isolation during COVID.
While AI can undoubtedly be a valuable tool in education, assisting with repetitive tasks and providing data-driven insights to help us create personalized learning opportunities for students 🎯, it cannot replace the nuanced understanding and empathetic connection that a human educator offers ❤️👨🏫. It is the assistant and a tool, not the teacher.
As we embrace the awesome technological advances in AI, we must not lose sight of the human element that is the cornerstone of effective education. AI can supplement, but it should not displace the irreplaceable role of human teachers in nurturing, understanding, and inspiring our students 🌱👩🏫.
If you enjoyed this video, you can find out more about the importance of building connections in your virtual learning programs by picking up a copy of my new book, “ELearning Gold” available at all major bookstores near you.
#aieducation #edtech #elearninggold #annettelevesque #education #distanceeducation #elearning