I can still remember when Alexa, an Amazon product, was first introduced to the public market. The way some people freak out about having, essentially, a robot assistant at their beck and call, able to set reminders for dates, check the weather for them, or order whatever new gadget or product they desire at that moment. The way others exclaimed fears of being listened in on by a company who might sell their data or otherwise invade their privacy. Granted, those last fears were well founded, I think back to those times now, and cannot help but compare it to automation of assessment, the fear of teachers being replaced, and the ways that technology, specifically A.I.s can be both a help, and a hindrance, to teachers. 

When asked the question “Should robots replace teachers?” the obvious answer, I would hope at least, would be no! Neil Selywn, as he says on the Edsurge podcast, expresses that, while the question seems to be a foolish one, the answer is a bit startling, that we could very well be replacing teachers with “robots” at this point, given the technology we have. (Young, 2021) Certainly this would be alarming to most people in the education field, myself included, but much like Alexa, technology is all about how we use it. 

If we just focus on the negatives of introducing, what I will refer to as “A.I.” from this point forward, we could well be in a world of trouble. Already, America is obsessed with data. The way that education used quantification to inform everything from how well students are “learning standards”, to basing school budgets on test scores. (Klein, 2015) If we were to fully embrace A.I. automation into education through the lens of quantification, I think that our students would suffer. I believe that it takes a human touch to determine how to best assess students. If a machine were to see a student lay their head down on their desk during an exam, it might automatically fail them, while a human being, with empathy and compassion, could evaluate the situation, talk to the student, and determine the best next steps. A machine can only do so much, but what if we combined that human intelligence with automated intelligence?

Recently, I have come across an A.I. app for educators called MagicSchool.ai, and it has really had me thinking about the potential positives of A.I. in the classroom. MagicSchool has a large number of tools to help support both educators and students in making assessments that could save teachers time, and give students the support they may need. For example, say a teacher has a great idea for an assessment, but is struggling with creating a rubric. MagicSchool has a tool that can auto generate a rubric based on the prompt, the objective, and the points scale. Additionally, if a student struggles with reading and is behind a number of grade levels in reading, MagicSchool can take a text and modify it reading level.

Overall, the fear of automation and over quantification in education is not unfounded, but we have not been replaced yet, so I think if we embrace the technology to support students, we can make it so we never are.

References:

Klein, A. (2023, June 21). No child left behind: An overview. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/no-child-left-behind-an-overview/2015/04 

MagicSchool AI. (2023). AI for teachers - lesson planning and more!. MagicSchool.ai - AI for teachers - lesson planning and more! https://www.magicschool.ai/

Young, J. R. (Executive Producer). (2021, October 5). Should robots replace teachers? [Audio podcast]. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-10-05-should-robots-replace-teachers