AI-POWERED TUTORS:
Are They Right for Your Kids?
What parents should know before letting AI help with homework.
With the release of ChatGPT and similar programs, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the world, including education. Teachers are using it to develop study guides, streamline classwork, assist with note-taking, and more—all while saving an incredible amount of time.
While many parents and educators fear that students will use AI to cheat, there are some thoughtful, innovative tools to help students study, write, solve problems, and brainstorm ideas. Cutting-edge intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), also called smart tutors or AI-powered tutors, are now available to schools and families, so it's important to explore the pros and cons of integrating these technologies into our kids' learning routine.
WHAT IS A SMART TUTOR?
Designed to simulate the experience of working one-on-one with a human tutor, smart tutors are computer programs that use the power of AI to provide personalized instruction and feedback to students. They give instant comments, create customized exercises, and assist students based on their individual needs. The Princeton Review believes these systems "have the potential to revolutionize the way students learn, offering tailored instruction and guidance without the need for a human teacher."
Kyron Learning, Babbel, and Duolingo are some of the AI tutors currently available. Khan Academy, the well-known nonprofit educational organization with more than 200 million users worldwide, also released their AI tutor called Khanmigo.
WHAT SMART TUTORS CAN DO
Smart tutors are known for their real-time monitoring and feedback capabilities, which means they closely evaluate a student's actions and choices, providing instantaneous reactions. This allows students to correct their work right away so they can learn from their mistakes.
They also guide students through a step-by-step process to solve complex problems, such as math or science lessons, adjusting content and feedback based on how well the student is progressing. Next, they provide interactive learning through gamification, simulations, and visual aids to keep students engaged. Finally, personalized, self-paced learning is used to help students build confidence and stay motivated while working through the material.
Powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT models and further trained on Khan Academy's extensive library of learning content, Khanmigo is an always-available tutor covering math, humanities, coding, social studies, and other subjects.
"Students can talk to AI simulations of historical figures and literary characters, which is really fun," says Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, Schoolhouse.world, Khan Lab School, and Khan World School. "They can get into debates with the AI and the AI gives them feedback." There are also opportunities to work on word games, co-write, and create flashcards or quizzes based on coursework.
BENEFITS
Here are some of the main benefits that smart tutors offer to students:
- Customized Learning: While traditional education typically follows a set curriculum, AI allows for more flexibility tailored to each student's needs and skill level. Based on each student's interactions with the material, the program recommends specific exercises, videos, and tutorials.
- Adaptive Pacing: The smart tutor can shift the lesson so it can be completed at the student's own pace, helping them grasp the concepts before moving on to more complex material.
- Increased Access to Quality Education: "One clear benefit of AI tutoring is that it is more accessible and can thus help far greater numbers of students," says Heidi Waterfield, Ed.M., a tutor in San Francisco. These programs are seen as a way to achieve educational equity since hiring human tutors can be expensive.
- Enhanced Student-Teacher Interaction: AI can help streamline teachers' work, leaving more time for them to interact directly with each student to provide catered lessons and input.
Students can also get support from Khanmigo while working on their Khan Academy lessons. "[They can ask it] why do I need to learn this? Help me think through what the next step is. It's really a pretty broad set of things that it's already doing and we're constantly adding more," explains Khan. Khanmigo does not give students answers, says Khan. "It tries to get the students to figure it out for themselves."
CONCERNS AND LIMITATIONS
However, as with any new technology, there are concerns and limitations to keep in mind.
Waterfield doesn't think computers will be replacing humans any time soon. She sees AI tutoring as a tool with the potential to help students bolster certain skills, but not as a replacement for personalized academic support. "When I work with students, I don't just teach content, I build trust, read subtle emotional cues, and craft personalized learning strategies," she says. "An algorithm can't create that connection, celebrate a student's breakthroughs, or provide nuanced encouragement to help a child through academic struggles that ultimately lead to personal growth."
Even Khan admits that there are some limitations to smart tutors like Khanmigo. "There are certain things that a human tutor can do that it's going to be a while for the AI to get close to," he says. "I think just that human-to-human accountability, human-to-human connection is very powerful.
The ability for the human tutor to interface with their parents, interface with the teacher, make sense of things, hold you accountable. I think we're trying to give Khanmigo elements of that, but that will be a long time off."
He doesn't view it as an either-or proposition when it comes to AI versus human educators. In fact, his suite of offerings includes the sister nonprofit Schoolhouse.world that provides live tutoring on Zoom from human beings for free.
Finally, there are some privacy, security, and ethical concerns.
- Will students use these tools to cheat?
- Will students and teachers become too reliant on technology at the expense of losing creativity, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking skills?
- Will the data AI systems collect be misused?
- And how ethical is it for AI to be involved in assessing students, such as giving them grades?
EVALUATING IF SMART TUTORS ARE A VALID OPTION FOR YOUR FAMILY
As technology continues to evolve and more AI tutors become available, do some research to decide what's appropriate for your children. Refer to Common Sense Media's information and reviews about AI products.
Khan also encourages parents to be skeptical of new, unvetted products. "I'd be a little bit wary of a lot of the [tools] that target students. They're essentially helping students cheat," he warns. In addition, it's always important to evaluate the safety and privacy of each product you consider using.
Also, many of these tools aren't accurate enough. "If you just go to ChatGPT, or any of these [tools]... especially on things like math, it'll make a lot of errors, and the errors aren't just math errors. It'll say you're right when you're wrong or you're wrong when you're right," says Khan.
STILL NOT SURE?
Continue reading reviews and asking questions about these tools before jumping on board. Talk to teachers, parents, and students about their experiences with different smart tutors. Finally, be part of the experience alongside your children as they explore working with AI programs so you can see for yourself exactly how they work and impact your children, whether positively or negatively.