By Zarela Cruz
We
all know the scenario: robots overtaking humans…how scary is that? When it
comes to our classroom, what are the chances to be displaced by artificial
intelligence or mere chatboxes?
First
of all, let’s get information about what artificial intelligence is capable to
accomplish. I quite often read information about algorithms, chatboxes and
apps, not only to be updated but also to try them myself. There is an important
distinction to be made: technology used by teachers and technology employed by
students. Each one has definite
purposes, to say the least.
Below
we can find some reflections about my findings:
AI is already being applied in Language
Acquisition In fact, this is not new at all. The application of AI started
about 30 years ago. Duolingo is a
free app used to learn languages and it is quite popular among students, since
it is free. This app has recently included a new feature: a chatbot, which
allows students to practice without feeling embarrassed of making mistakes,
especially if they do not feel particularly confident when speaking. We were
all new to the language once; would you not have preferred if there had been
absolutely no potential of anyone taking notice of those mistakes?
2.
AI is really effective in terms
of collecting data, which allows the standardization of information regarding
students’ production, let’s say in written tasks, and also provides instant
feedback. There are platforms that are available 24/7. This gives the students
the sense of always getting attention. Who would not like getting immediate
replies when practicing? Waiting for feedback may be quite discouraging.
3.
LUMILO is an augmented reality assistant which, together with the teacher,
monitors students’ performance in real time and allows the teacher to assign
more challenging activities to stronger students and provide support to the
ones that are struggling with the tasks. If we do not step up and accept the
challenge that the ever-improving augmented reality technology presents, who
will?
4.
GRAMMARLY corrects students’ writings. This means saving a lot of time in
class. What can a teacher do then? Identify the students’ weaknesses and providing
them with practice on that particular issue. Besides, this application helps
students to know their scores, how well they are doing, but NOT how to write
and/or organize a text. Because of this, students will still ask themselves
“but what can I do to improve?” which will result in them seeking advice from
their teachers.
5.
Technology promotes collaboration. Forums and wikis work really well. Teachers start
the thread and students participate by answering the main questions and
replying to at least two of their classmates. Rules regarding participation
must be clear to make the most of it.
6.
Technology reduces repetitive tasks by programming the feedback of each question in an
exam after it is finished, for example, which in turn allows not only to get
the score, but also statistics of the classroom’s results. It is also very
handy when getting the final scores of a course since we upload each activity’s
grade all along the duration of the course or the term; when it is finished we are
able to get the final score just by clicking on it. As teachers, we deserve
some help with data organization too, don’t we?
7.
And last, but not least important, when
dealing with this fear of being substituted by a contraption, rest assured, technology
will never be able to replace teachers. However, our roles are constantly
changing, and this is no exception. We will turn out to be supervisors in the
learning process. Once again, this is not breaking news. With the Flipped
Classroom, we have a similar role. It is a matter of not losing perspective.
Have you ever felt threatened by technology that your
institution has invested on?
Do you think it is not a fair competition or just not
possible to compete with Artificial Intelligence?
Biodata
Zarela
Cruz graduated from Ricardo Palma
University as a translator. She also finished her master’s
studies in Linguistics and took some specialization diplomas in the
Teaching of English and Spanish. She has also completed some online
certificates: Teaching the Working Adult, Online,
Hybrid and Blended Education, among other self-study courses. She has
taught different courses, programs and levels and has been a teacher trainer, a
lecturer and online instructor for more than 25 years. She has just
finished her master’s studies in Translation. This article aims to reflect
on this important current topic, the use of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom.
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