AI in the Classroom

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It is difficult to be a teacher while not having once used AI in the classroom these days. The unstoppable prevalence of AI excuses nothing. However, what is a triumph for tech companies is a concern for the education sector.Don’t get me wrong. I am not denying the revolutionary power AI could wield on education, especially on language learning. I am a witness to this power as well as a beneficiary. Nevertheless, with AI rampaging through our classrooms, it is necessary to put a brake on it and think about how to cooperate with it in ways that benefit the students most.One particular application of AI in the classroom keeps baffling me: the integration of AIGC in different stages of a class. Of course, different teachers might hold different opinions towards it. But to me, its use in most cases so far has been disappointing. Without doubt, AIGC platforms excel at visualization, which is certainly essential in helping students grasp abstract concepts and develop structured thinking skills. However, I would put a question mark there when it is solely used to engage and impress students.By “solely used to engage and impress”, I mean using AIGC merely as stimuli for the senses. I understand it is important for the students to invoke their senses to maximize their cognitive functions during the learning process. However, I see little benefit in having students watch AI-generated figures deliver information in an uncanny way -- information that could otherwise be read from texts. Such videos may capture attention, but through a mechanism not unlike that of short videos on TikTok. As children and teenagers grow accustomed to this mode of information consumption, it becomes their learning comfort zone where they can acquire information without much cognitive effort. But learning is not supposed to be comfortable. It should be fun, and comfort should not be mistaken for fun.Another risk of visualizing information through AIGC lies in its potential impact on students’ creativity. It has become common to turn stories into videos in continuous writing classes. Although such ready-made videos may facilitate students’ comprehension and leave a deeper impression, they deprive students of the opportunity to construct their own mental pictures of a story. Videos are well-rounded, but limited. Words are ambiguous, yet infinite. It is in ambiguity that creativity is born. What is also concerning is that AI-generated videos are often aesthetically underdeveloped and derivative. AI’s difficulty in understanding human emotions and complexities results in the limitation of its works -- a lack of emotional depth and originality. Exposure to emotionally shallow and repetitive content will compromise students’ aesthetic experiences, which are essential to the development of creativity.Having said that, I do believe AI can be extremely useful in various classroom scenarios, particularly in promoting participation and teaching efficiency. For example, it can provide instant and personalized feedback for students to improve their writing and speaking skills. Therefore, to maximize AI’s benefits to learning, it may be worth asking ourselves the following questions before integrating it into the classroom:

Is this technology used merely to capture students’ attention?Does it help students acquire information and think independently and critically?Does it train students’ aesthetic sensitivity and encourage creativity?

When every other sector is racing to embrace AI, perhaps education is the one place where slowing down matters most.