Some free tools of Artificial Intelligence in Education
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various aspects of our lives, and the field of education is no exception. In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in the application of AI tools to enhance and personalize the educational experience. From adaptive tutoring systems to virtual assistants for teachers, AI promises to revolutionize the way we teach and learn. In my opinion, the adaptation of curricula to the use of these tools is slowly but inexorably cooking.
We must be sure about what AI will not do in our schools:
AI will never be able to alternate teaching strategies depending on the day, the time, the motivation of the students or the subject matter of each class. Adapting and making class time flexible, measuring the classroom environment, is only within the reach of human teachers. Not to mention capturing attention, promoting dialogue and listening with real interest to students' concerns. I doubt that we can have an artificial intelligence that avoids disruption, conflict, disaffection with school or the heavy backpack (not only physical) that each student carries.
Even so, there is growing scientific evidence that these tools can contribute to a release of teachers' workload, to a more personalized education, and to a more effective teaching and learning, and that they will allow students to be more aware citizens of the technology that is invading us in these times. Proof of this evidence are the UNESCO report, Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research, or the European Commission document, Ethical Guidelines on the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) and Data in Teaching and learning for Educators.
In any case, from this post I would like to contribute to the adoption of these tools and the improvement of education in the best possible way, and therefore, I bring you some of the best free tools I have found for use in classrooms:
ChatGPT stands out for its ability to provide detailed explanations, engage in discussions on a wide range of topics and generate creative ideas. Its versatility allows it to adapt to various contexts, personalizing the learning process. This adaptability makes it possible to provide answers tailored to the specific needs of each student, thus enhancing the individualized application of learning. The limit for applying this tool to education is the teacher's imagination, and he or she can be asked to summarize texts, rewrite them, correct spelling, prepare the content for a specific subject, or even create the script for a presentation.
Diffit (AI assistant for the creation of educational resources)
The main attraction of this AI tool is that it makes it easier for teachers to search for resources for their subjects, indicating the source from which the information is extracted. Thus, it generates texts on the subject indicated and takes into account the course of the students to adapt them to their knowledge more easily; from these texts it also creates a summary, a vocabulary with the most important words and a questionnaire that teachers can use to check whether the students have understood the content explained. Teachers can also share the contents generated by the application by means of teaching cards, exercise books, short-answer exercises, etc. It is possible to test it free of charge for one month and the only requirement is to have a Google account.
QuestionWell (Intelligent educational quiz generator)
QuestionWell is an innovative tool designed to simplify the work of teachers in creating tests and assessment activities. In just a few minutes, teachers can generate customized quizzes related to their specific subject matter and create relevant questions in a matter of minutes, both for exams and classroom activities. In addition, it allows exporting quizzes to popular platforms such as Moodle, Quizziz and Kahoot! And with a Google account, you can use its free version with basic functionalities.
GrammarlyGO (Creator and optimizer of written content)
GrammarlyGO allows users to create writing, rewrite and generate ideas quickly and easily. Other features, such as responding to the context of the email you receive, generating ideas and outlines, and improving your writing intelligently, are also accessible. To conclude, the AI version of Grammarly can provide more personalized and beneficial features for those who want to create and polish their writing.
PDFGear (Intelligent Summarizing Tool)
PDFgear is a completely free AI tool that can help you quickly extract information from a large PDF file and is among the best AI summarizers and best educational chatbots. To use it, you can ask anything in the PDF file and locate what you are looking for in seconds, which makes it a useful solution for summarizing research papers. In addition, you can use this AI tool to review multiple PDFs at once.
And there are many more interesting tools, such as Duolingo or Socrative. In my work, for example, we developed an AI tool with the graphical programming language Scratch. And as a participant in some activities of the European Commission on these educational topics, this is a topic that I am very passionate about. So if you have any questions or want to contact me, you can do it here without any problem and I will be happy to help you.
And remember,
AI does not provide the affection that learners deserve. Nothing replaces the encouragement or comfort of the teacher. Without the personal support and companionship of the teacher we would perpetuate a model based solely on efficiency where inclusion takes a back seat. The hundreds of (often useless) data on our grading spreadsheets will be small potatoes compared to the millions of data that each student will produce throughout his or her educational journey. To quote Freire, in his “Letters to those who pretend to teach”, the qualities of a teacher are irreplaceable by any machine: humility, loving kindness, courage, tolerance, competence, the ability to decide, security, ethics, justice, the tension between patience and impatience, verbal parsimony....