Education has mostly followed the same structure for centuries — e.g., the “sage on a stage” and “assembly line” models. As AI continues to disrupt industries like consumer electronics, ecommerce, media, transportation, and healthcare, is education the next big opportunity?
Given that education is the foundation that prepares people to pursue advancements in all the other fields, it has the potential to be the most impactful application of AI.
Key trends
The three segments of the education market — K-12, higher education, and corporate training — are going through transitions. In the K-12 market, we are seeing the effect of the newer, more rigorous academic standards (Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards) shifting the focus toward measuring students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills and preparing them for college and career success in the 21st century. In higher education, we are seeing the shift toward online learning through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses) as a way to deal with the burgeoning problem of student debt. In corporate learning, we are seeing the shift toward virtual training, as HR departments focus on cutting costs and improving employee productivity.
The education industry has primarily three types of players — content, platform, and assessment providers — and each is going through a transition. The content publishers are bracing with the challenges of the print-to-digital transition, as well providing content for the open education resources. The learning platforms are trying to differentiate in the adaptivity, personalization, and analytics space. And assessment will continue to play a pivotal role in transforming the education industry as it transitions from multiple-choice tests toward more innovative question types.
How AI will help
In terms of technology adoption, education has remained a “developing nation” among the industries. However, this is an advantage, as it need not go through the installation of traditional infrastructure that other industries had to go through, and instead can leapfrog by directly adopting mobile smartphone technology.
The dynamics generated by the key trends and…