Here’s how ed-tech companies are pitching AI to teachers [MIT Tech Review]

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This back-to-school season marks the third year in which AI models like ChatGPT will be used by thousands of students around the globe (among them my nephews, who tell me with glee each time they ace an assignment using AI). A top concern among educators remains that when students use such models to write essays or come up with ideas for projects, they miss out on the hard and focused thinking that builds creative reasoning skills. 

But this year, more and more educational technology companies are pitching schools on a different use of AI. Rather than scrambling to tamp down the use of it in the classroom, these companies are coaching teachers how to use AI tools to cut down on time they spend on tasks like grading, providing feedback to students, or planning lessons. They’re positioning AI as a teacher’s ultimate time saver. 

One company, called Magic School, says its AI tools like quiz generators and text summarizers are used by 2.5 million educators. Khan Academy offers a digital tutor called Khanmigo, which it bills to teachers as “your free, AI-powered teaching assistant.” Teachers can use it to assist students in subjects ranging from coding to humanities. Writing coaches like Pressto help teachers provide feedback on student essays.  

The pitches from ed-tech companies often cite a 2020 report from McKinsey and Microsoft, which found teachers work an average of 50 hours per week. Many of those hours, according to the report, consist of “late nights marking papers, preparing lesson plans, or filling out endless paperwork.” The authors suggested that embracing AI tools could save teachers 13 hours per week. 

Companies aren’t the only ones making this pitch. Educators and policymakers have also spent the last year pushing for AI in the classroom. Education departments in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and US states like North Carolina and Colorado have issued guidance for how teachers can positively and safely incorporate AI. 

But when it comes to how willing teachers are to turn over some of their responsibilities to an AI model, the answer really depends on the task, according to Leon Furze, an educator and PhD candidate at Deakin University who studies the impact of generative AI on writing instruction and education.

“We know from plenty of research that teacher workload actually comes from data collection and analysis, reporting, and communications,” he says. “Those are all areas where AI can help.”

Then there are a host of not-so-menial tasks that teachers are more skeptical AI can excel at. They often come down to two core teaching responsibilities: lesson planning and grading. A host of companies offer large language models that they say can generate lesson plans to conform to different curriculum standards. Some teachers, including in some California districts, have also used AI models to grade and provide feedback for essays. For these applications of AI, Furze says, many of the teachers he works with are less confident in its reliability. 

When companies promise time savings for planning and grading, it is “a huge red flag,” he says, because “those are core parts of the profession.” He adds, “Lesson planning is—or should be—thoughtful, creative, even fun.” Automated feedback on creative skills like writing is controversial too: “Students want feedback from humans, and assessment is a way for teachers to get to know students. Some feedback can be automated, but not all.” 

So how eager are teachers to adopt AI to save time? Earlier this year, in May, a Pew research poll found that only 6% of teachers think AI can provide more benefits than harm in education. But with AI changing faster than ever, this school year might be when ed-tech companies start to win them over.

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