Will AI transform eLearning?

We are already experiencing how AI is affecting some facets of our lives. How you ask? The movement sensing lights that go on when you enter an unoccupied conference room or a parking area, intelligent sensors in cameras now that detect a smile and help take good pictures, cars with automatic parking features, Alexa switching on the living room lights, and Google adding items to your shopping list! We have personal assistants in our smartphones that we have rather got used to. The buzz around AI in eLearning has also acquired lot of weight in the last few years. Needless to say, AI is the primary topic of interest at most learning and technology conferences these days. I happened to attend Learning Solutions 2019 Conference in Orlando in March this year, and not surprisingly, AI took the center stage. It was evident from the numerous sessions being conducted around AI and many renowned speakers talking about its impact on the current eLearning scenario. Following are some interesting trends and insights that caught my attention.

Chatbots

Chatbots have become synonymous with AI in eLearning. They stole the show at this conference as well by being the most discussed AI application.

Vince Han, CEO and Founder of Mobile Coach, talked about how chatbots can be an effective solution in connecting learners with resources and job aids they need, and when they need them.

Hugh Seaton, CEO of Aquinas Learning, touched upon how chatbots offer a way to easily create and deploy interactive and adaptive learning sequences in learning engagements. He walked the audience through creating a simple chatbot based on Google’s DialogFlow.

Joe Ganci, President of eLearning Joe, helped identify ways to incorporate a chatbot in your learning project and gave examples of how chatbots can introduce a course and deliver pre-work, give embedded performance feedback during the course, and share personalized tips after the course.

AI and Instructional Design

AI and its effect on instructional designers was the next most discussed thing after chatbots.

A panel discussion titled ‘Where is instructional design heading?’ which was conducted by industry’s instructional design experts discussed how instructional design needs to evolve as new technologies and approaches emerge. The panel gave tips on what can best help instructional designers prepare for where instructional design may be heading.

Poonam Jaypuriya, Vice President of eLearning at Harbinger Interactive Learning, talked about why the fear of AI replacing humans in the learning workforce is unwarranted.  She emphasized on how instructional designers’ role has evolved with the emergence of AI in the learning ecosystem.

With so much to ponder on, it’s but natural to think how AI is making inroads to eLearning and revolutionizing the learning industry.

Apart from the above points, here’s how AI could impress.

• eLearning powered by AI will differentiate learners’ learning speeds and suggest different paths of learning depending on their current level of mastery.
• The key to building successful learning experiences lies in asking the right questions. AI-powered platforms can be used to create questions, assessments, and quizzes with greater speed and efficiency.

As I understand, the overall research goal of AI is to create technology that allows computers and machines to function in an intelligent manner. Time will only tell whether AI in eLearning lives upto the hype or not, but for now, the future seems to be bright.