Leveraging AI in Education to Empower Teachers and Unlock Student Potential

In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly prominent presence in the field of education. As educators and students alike navigate this new landscape, it is crucial to understand AI's potential to revolutionize the learning process. 

Kicking off our exciting "The Future of Education Interview Series,"we are diving into conversations with experts from the education sector. We're listening to what they envision for the future of education and exploring various perspectives. In this journey, Rask AI plays a pivotal role in ushering in this bright future. 

To start, Maria Chmir, CEO and founder of Brask and Rask AI, sat down with Erika Twani, a renowned TEDx speaker and Fortune 100 executive. Erika, who has advised government officials and education leaders across the globe on leveraging technology in education, shared her valuable insights on how AI can both empower teachers and unlock student potential. Join us as we uncover the transformative power of AI in education through these insightful discussions.

Addressing Teachers' Fears and Concerns

One of the most significant challenges in integrating AI into education is addressing teachers' concerns. Twani explains, "The questions teachers frequently ask are: Is AI a tool that will replace me? How much knowledge do I need to have to use AI? What AI tools can I use in education?"

To alleviate these fears, it’s essential to demonstrate AI's potential to teachers. Twani shares a real-life example of a teacher initially hesitant about AI but embraced it after understanding its capabilities. "Once you saw that the ChatGPT can enrich the experience and enrich the teachers' strategies, she was bought in," Twani recounts.

AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement

While AI shows great promise in a wide range of fields, Twani emphasizes,

Erika Twani

TEDx speaker, Fortune 100 executive

AI is a powerful tool to leverage teacher skills to help students succeed. And personally, I do not believe that AI will replace teachers anytime soon.

Instead, AI can augment teachers' skills and help scale their unique strengths. Twani envisions a future where AI can create bots that leverage the best practices of exceptional teachers, allowing others to benefit from their expertise without having to go through years of training.

For instance, AI has the ability to enrich lessons in a way not possible before. If a student is looking for extra context on a question, then AI could provide a historical anecdote or metaphor that resonates with the student.

Accessibility, Language, and Envisioning the Future of Education with AI

As AI continues to shape the educational landscape, accessibility, and language remain critical factors in ensuring that everyone can benefit from these advancements. Twani highlights the importance of language in making education accessible, praising Rask AI's role in translating educational content and empowering parents and students. 

Rask AI, as I see it, is doing an outstanding job of making it happen," she notes. Languages and tools like Rask AI can empower parents, for instance, to support their children at home. And it can even help students understand concepts that otherwise will get lost if you can't translate them."

Looking to the future, Twani paints a vivid picture of how AI could transform education. She describes a scenario where middle school students researching how to clean up ocean plastics can leverage AI to create a concept paper, find potential investors, develop presentations, and even prototype an app — all without formal training in these areas. 

"These students are not experts on environmental cleaning," Twani explains. They are not presentation designers or coders; they were never exposed to this world. But one thing they know is how to create prompts to interact with AI."

This scenario highlights the importance of developing students' inquiry skills and harnessing AI. Twani believes every student is a genius, and AI can help unlock their potential.

"The most important thing for us right now is to consider this one skill we must make sure that students in the world that we live are developing, which is inquiry skills, how to ask questions, how to write prompts, and how to make sure that they can harness the power of AI to realize their dreams," she emphasizes.

Envisioning the Future

As we navigate the future of education, it is essential to view AI as a collaborator rather than a competitor. Twani concludes, "When we think of AI, don't think of AI as replacing teachers or as a tool for students to cheat. Let's think of AI as an augmented brain that we can tap into. And we can create incredible new things. Ask questions we never knew how to ask, create solutions we never thought about. That's the power of AI."

By embracing AI as a copilot in education, we can empower teachers to create more engaging and personalized learning experiences while equipping students with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world. As Twani's insights demonstrate, the potential for AI to transform education is vast — it is up to us to harness that potential and create a brighter future for all learners.