“We’re at the cusp of using AI for probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen.”

-Sal Khan

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could foster the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen.

What is Education 4.0

Education 4.0 is an extension of the educational concept in the era of Industry 4.0. Education 4.0 focuses on cultivating students’ innovation ability, critical thinking, cooperation ability, and global vision and other future-ready skills. It utilizes emerging technologies to achieve more personalized, customized, and diversified educational services.

Education 4.0 Alliance develop Education 4.0 framework that outlines key transformations needed in childhood education. It consists of four sets of future-ready skills – global citizenship, innovation and creativity, technology, and interpersonal skills. The framework also consists four sets of learning experiences – personalized and self-paced, accessible, problem-based and collaborative, and lifelong and student-driven learning.

In today’s digital and intelligent era, the field of education has been undergoing a profound transformation. In this transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) has become the core force driving the development of Education 4.0.

The application of artificial intelligence in Education 4.0

Personalized learning

Artificial intelligence can formulate personalized learning plans and course contents for each student according to their learning situation, interests, and learning styles. For example, by analyzing students’ learning data, the artificial intelligence system can precisely push learning resources and exercises suitable for students to help them identify and fill in the learning gaps and improve learning efficiency. In addition, artificial intelligence can also monitor students’ learning status and emotional changes in real-time and adjust teaching strategies in time to provide students with more considerate learning support.

For example, Khan Academy uses artificial intelligence technology to provide personalized learning paths for students. The system will automatically adjust the course difficulty and content according to the students’ answering situations and learning progress to ensure that each student can study at their own pace.

Another example is Smart Sparrow, an adaptive learning platform in Australia, which can dynamically adjust the course content and difficulty according to the interaction and performance of students with the course content to meet the learning needs of each student.

Intelligent tutoring and answering questions

Artificial intelligence chatbots and intelligent tutoring systems can provide students with learning tutoring and question-answering services at any time. These systems can understand students’ questions and answer them in a clear and accurate way. Compared with traditional manual tutoring, artificial intelligence tutoring systems are more efficient and less costly.

For instance, Duolingo is a language learning application program, and its intelligent chatbot can conduct conversation exercises with students to help them improve their language expression ability and listening level.

Another example is CoCo. CoCo is a new co-creative learning platform that empowers educators to engage children and teens in an endless variety of collaborative creative computing experiences with peers — regardless of whether they are sitting next to one another in a classroom or connecting remotely across continents.

Intelligent management of teaching resources

Artificial intelligence can help teachers manage teaching resources intelligently. The artificial intelligence system can recommend the highest quality and most suitable teaching resources for teachers, saving teachers’ time and energy in lesson preparation. At the same time, artificial intelligence can also help optimize and update teaching resources.

Resources already exist for teaching about AI, such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) “Hands-on AI Projects for the Classroom”, which includes specific projects that teach concepts such as unconscious bias and active vs. passive data collection, and terms such as machine learning algorithm and targeted marketing.

Parental Perspectives on Dealing with Education 4.0

From a parent’s perspective, in the era of Education 4.0, it is crucial to keep an open mind and embrace the changes and advancements in educational technology. Parents should take the initiative to understand artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Parents should also learn how AI and other emerging technologies are integrated into the educational process. Read Sal Khan’s new book of Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education to start with. The book is available on Amazon. A book on Edtech related topics recommended by Bill Gates.

Parents need to encourage their children to take advantage of personalized learning opportunities provided by AI-driven educational platforms. This means guiding children to set clear learning goals and actively engage in self-directed learning.

It is also essential for parents to stay involved in their children’s learning journey. While technology offers great resources, human connection and parental guidance remain indispensable. Parents should communicate with their children regularly to understand their learning experiences, difficulties, and achievements, and provide emotional support and motivation.

In addition, parents should pay attention to the ethical and safety issues related to educational technology, such as data privacy and the appropriate use of AI tools. Teaching children about digital citizenship and responsible technology use is an important part of their education in this digital age.

MIT, partners with i2 learning, provides How to Train Your Robot, for AI education with Boston schools.

Preparing students for the future means having them engage in technology through hands-on activities. We provide students with tools and conceptual frameworks where we want them to engage with our materials as conscientious designers of AI-enabled technologies

For those who don’t yet have access to A.I. in the classroom, website of RAISE, an M.I.T. initiative is a good resource. The site offers conversation starters about ethical issues in A.I., the ways in which A.I. can be abused, and suggestions for using A.I. creatively and productively.

How Parents Choose Toys for Primary and Middle School Students of Different Ages and Learning Styles

When it comes to choosing toys for children, parents should consider their age and learning style.

According to Neil Fleming and David Baume, who developed VARK, there are four learning styles: Visual, Auditory, Reading/writing and Kinesthetic. Take Vark questionnaire to determine the learning style first.

• Visual (spacial) learners learn best by seeing
• Auditory (aural) learners learn best by hearing
• Reading/writing learners learn best by reading and writing
• Kinesthetic (physical) learners learn best by moving and doing

Younger primary school students (6 – 8 years old)

They have a more sensory-oriented learning style, toys like building blocks, puzzles, and sensory play dough are good choice. The toys can help develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. For those with a visual learning style, picture books and educational posters can enhance their understanding and retention of knowledge.

Older primary school students (9 – 12 years old)

They start to develop logical thinking and have a more analytical learning style, board games that involve strategy and problem-solving, science experiment kits, and DIY craft sets can stimulate their creativity and critical thinking. For children with an auditory learning style, educational audio toys or language learning games can be beneficial.

Middle school students (13 – 15 years old)

They become more independent and have diverse interests, depending on their learning styles and interests, parents can choose educational robotics kits for those with a hands-on learning style, or language learning software and e-readers for those who prefer solitary learning and reading.

Conclusion

Although there are still some problems and challenges regarding artificial intelligence in Education 4.0, we have reasons to believe that with the continuous advancement of technology and the deepening of applications, artificial intelligence will bring more profound changes to education. In the future, artificial intelligence will be more deeply integrated with education, providing students with more personalized, intelligent, and diversified learning experiences and offering teachers more efficient, convenient, and accurate teaching support, promoting the educational undertaking to develop in a more equitable, high-quality, and innovative direction.

The era of Education 4.0 has dawned. As the leader of this transformation, artificial intelligence is painting a brand-new educational blueprint for us. Let’s join hands, embrace artificial intelligence actively, and jointly create a bright future for education!

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