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The future is Super Intelligent, not Artificially Intelligent and education must respond

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 21 June 2018

Rose Luckin
I love teaching and I love learning and I hope that I will be doing both of these things for many years to come. I know that learning is something I need to do every day to keep myself up to date and to help me understand more and different concepts. As we live longer and with the knowledge that many future jobs do not yet exist, it seems pretty clear that we are all going to need to learn for much more of our lives than we currently do. Therefore, the demands on educators must surely be set for a huge increase?
However, before we feel too comfortable about the continuing demands for our profession’s expertise, we need to make sure that we are able to prepare our students (and ourselves) for a super intelligent world.
Super Intelligence is the result of blending the best of human intelligence and the best of artificial intelligence (AI) and it is what will increasingly drive our lives at work and at leisure. It’s a topic explored in my new book, to be launched at the London Festival of Learning, which starts tomorrow at the UCL Institute of Education. (more…)

Ofsted's use of Artificial Intelligence: how smart is it to automate risk assessments?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 9 February 2018

Melanie Ehren.
Ofsted has come under attack for its collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team for using machine learning to identify failing schools. According to several sources (BBC and Matthew Reynolds), BIT has been trialling machine learning models that can crunch through publicly available data to help automate Ofsted’s decisions on whether a school is potentially performing inadequately. The algorithms use information on number of children on free school meals, how much teachers are paid, the number of teachers for each subject, and particular words and sentiments in reviews of schools submitted by parents on the Ofsted-run website Parent View.
As Ofsted’s head of risk assessment (Paul Moore) explains: (more…)

Slow down you move too fast, you got to make the meaning (sic) last

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 4 January 2018

‘Slow’ human intelligence must be valued more holistically if we are to really benefit from the power of AI, says Rose Luckin. 
The end of 2017 brought some worrying observations about the progress of Artificial Intelligence with respect to UK Education. It illustrated that many people are far too willing to equate speed and reduced cost with success. We are in danger of missing what really matters in education; in danger of missing the meaning of what education should about. This is dangerous for education and for the progress of learners and educators of all ages.
First came the publication of the first report from the Data Science Behavioural Insights Team (BIT); this stressed the value of speed. Second came the 19th evidence session of the House of Lords select committee on AI, which focused on AI and education.[1] This revealed the potential for machine learning AI to reduce the cost of delivering the current school curriculum, and at the same time reduce the value of human intelligence.
The BIT report marks the first anniversary of the data science team and is the demonstration of its raison d’être and the value of data science for policy. In the report, (more…)

Students need support in order to build skills for the future

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 28 June 2017

Mutlu Cukurova and Rose Luckin. 
There is a growing interest globally in teaching approaches that allow university students to work independently, often in group activities. However, our research suggests that leaving students to do their own investigations without any support is a practice that should be approached with caution if we want to promote effective learning in higher education.
These teaching approaches include Enquiry-Based Learning, Problem-Based Learning, Practice-based Learning, and Project-Based Learning. This focus, at least in part, stems from discussions about the impact of automation on the future of employment and the (more…)

What kind of learning do we need to make the most of the new technological revolution?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 10 March 2017

Rose Luckin
Learning is the key to success in the fourth industrial revolution and I was delighted to be asked to provide evidence to the Future of Work Commission at the House of Lords. It helped me to crystalize my thinking.
Learning is at the heart of the fundamental insight that motivated reformers and precipitated the creation of state-funded universal schooling in the Industrial Revolution. This insight was that when education fails to keep pace with technology, workers suffer, fall behind, and society starts to fragment. When learning and innovation progress in harmony then we all feel the benefits. Finland’s Minister of Education and Culture, for example, has said that she wanted her country to be “continuously learning” and developing “strong, transferable skills” in a society where people can “return to education when they need it.”
But what does this mean? In order to prosper the UK needs a workforce that can adapt to (more…)

How AI can eradicate exam stress forever

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 25 May 2016

Rose Luckin.
The recent leaking of SAT papers and the growing body of evidence on the stress and anxiety experienced by students who have to sit a battery of tests and exams highlight an area of serious concern. It is all particularly frustrating because it does not have to be like this.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could wipe out all this pain and change schools forever: it could do away with the need for exams.
This is not to suggest that we should do away with assessment. It is essential that we know how students are progressing in their knowledge, understanding and skills, and how teaching practices and educational systems are or are not successful. However, assessment does not have to mean tests and exams.
Artificial Intelligence is difficult to define because it is constantly shifting and interdisciplinary. However, in our new report Intelligence Unleashed we identify a (more…)