Running header: FUTURE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN REMOTE LEARNING

The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Distance and Remote Learning

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Abstract

Technological advancement has changed how every aspect of human life is conducted;
work, social interaction, travel, etc. In education, technology is changing both how teachers
relate with learners in the classroom, the pedagogy employed, and even where and how the
classroom is. Consequently, technology has made it possible for people to attend the same
classroom, and receive instruction from the same instructor, no matter where they are in the
world. Remote learning, enabled by technology, is certainly not new. The use of artificial
intelligence in it, however, is an emerging phenomenon. This research will investigate how AI
will evolve in the remote learning space and how the pedagogy and student experience will be
influenced by it.

Literature Review

Pedagogical and Cognitive Aspects

Jabar Yousif, Dinesh Kumar Saini, and Hassan Uraibi, in their research titled
“Artificial Intelligence in E-Learning-Pedagogical and Cognitive Aspects”, investigate how
use of artificial intelligence in delivering e-learning is affecting adaptive learning approaches,
tutoring systems, user modelling, and how the technical is combined with pedagogy. This
research report deals with the subject of AI in e-learning by separating its different aspects
and probing to what extent each aspect will have to adopt in order to remain effective. For
instance, self-regulation and problem based learning investigates how AI can help overcome
the challenges that self-regulation presents when it comes to online classrooms and remote
learning. The research notes that “it is believed that students learning about the complex and
difficulties in science fields using Hypermedia will be more successful if they devote
themselves to a series of repeated cycles of activities, cognitive and metacognitive central in
learning and knowledge building” (Yousif et al. 2011).

In this regard, they further argue that artificial intelligence will come in handy in
modelling applications that improve student participation in remote learning that happens in
the web environment. The research concludes that further research is required in the area of
artificial intelligence and its role in remote learning as digital technology continue to advance
the effectiveness of interactions between users and computers. The pedagogical and cognitive
aspects of learning will greatly require extensive use of artificial intelligence (Luckin et al.
2016) to allay the fear of e-learning becoming increasingly one way; where the teacher and
the machine only pass information to the student sans user participation.

The Scenario and Extent of Artificial Intelligence in E-Learning

Although extensive and wide spread use of AI in remote learning still lies in the
future, the present scenario is a source for much hope and need for further research. In his
research on e-learning experience with AI supported software, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Arslan, of the
Department of Computer Engineering, Usak University, Turkey, investigates and reports
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about the experiences of applying AIEd software to English language courses. In his study,
Prof. Arslan evaluated how an intelligent mechanism was used in the course design to
“determine appropriate digital materials that will be viewed along a possible e-learning
activity process” (2015). To achieve this, two artificial intelligence techniques are employed,
notes Prof. Arslan, neural networks and cognitive development optimization algorithm. When
this model of incorporating artificial intelligence in the e-learning software was put to the test
in Romania, Turkey, and Italy the results of the experiment showed that incorporation of
artificial intelligence in the software improved students’ academic achievement tremendously
(Prof. Arslin, 2011). This and other reported successes of artificial intelligence in education
(AIEd) are evidence of the role of artificial intelligence in education in the future.

Accordingly, Felix Castro et al. ascertained that using data mining, an aspect of
artificial intelligence, remote learning moderators can identify patterns of learning based on
the data generated by the users, in this case students (2010). Identifying the patterns of study
behavior of students opens a window of examination into how the pedagogy of remote
learning must evolve to tackle challenges of the future particularly in technical studies like
sciences, accounting, and IT. Effective application of artificial intelligence, for instance data
and web mining, “could improve the effectiveness and efficiency of distance education in two
ways: on the one hand, the discovery of aggregate and individual paths for students could help
in the development of effective customized education, providing an indication of how to best
organize the educator organization’s courseware” (Castro et al. 2010). This further informs
how to develop adaptive remote learning environment (Colchester et al. 2017). In the case of
e-learning models, adaptive systems are primarily about the individual student differences and
how they can all be catered for in an online environment. Moving into the future, and as more
institutions of learning shift to remote learning to increase their scope and theatre of operation
to the global market, artificial intelligence will play a central role in making the student
experience as adaptive as possible (Colchester et al. 2017).

There is consensus that artificial intelligence will change the education landscape,
especially in remote learning. Indeed, in the age of globalization, remote teaching offers
students the opportunity to learn in a global education system and pedagogy made possible by
technology. If this change is inevitable, the evolution of teaching models and student
interaction must be directed appropriately to take advantage of the possibilities of the future.
Thus Fatma Bunyotova and Gulbala Salamov (2014) argue that understanding the necessity of
new strategies of teaching and enhancing student experience in distance education is
imperative. Additionally, e-learning pedagogy that is influenced by artificial intelligence has
to be designed within the confines of the logical development of natural knowledge
(Bunyotova & Samolov 2014). Thus new models of teaching and student-teacher interaction
must be designed in lieu of traditional pedagogy as the primary means of knowledge transfer.
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Research Questions

Hitherto remote learning has simply meant the use of technology, online learning
platforms (canvas, d2l, and blackboard), social networks and internet video services, to
transfer and impart what is generally traditional knowledge. According to the literature
reviewed above, most scholars concur that as the model, the students, and pedagogy changes,
new form of knowledge will have to be developed. Here I will ask how artificial
intelligence is going to change the knowledge itself as it changes the systems and models
of knowledge transfer. This question can only be explored once the effects of current
technology of remote learning, on the knowledge itself, have been ascertained. This question
will allow the research to explore the paradox of technology, AI specifically, changing the
industries where learners hope to work after learning while at the same time altering the
learning experience and the knowledge transferred. How can pedagogy reconcile these two?

While artificial intelligence tools are mainly virtual, in education they interact with
physical human beings; both students and teachers. This interaction must be utilized in the
future to improve feedback, both ways, and improve the learning experience every time. Here
I will ask to what extent artificial intelligence will interact with both parties without
raising questions of privacy and eroding the human relation necessary for a beneficial
learning experience. For instance, if camera in a classroom can pick up emotions such as
boredom and fatigue, effectively sending the teacher signals, how far shall artificial
intelligence go and how might this change teaching models?

The discussion about the quality of higher education in the wake of higher education
based in business models has been raging. Similarly, the discussion on the future of artificial
intelligence, particularly its saturation in the hands of a few for business purposes has raised
criticism from different quotas. Moreover, most artificial intelligence tools are made as
business products. For instance, creators of lifelong learning companions might be sold by
businesses. Thus my research will also seek to answer the question: How will education
institutions, remote learning instruction, and the student experience be affected by the
business aspect of artificial intelligence in education? Moreover, will artificial intelligence
eventually replace tradition teachers?

Methodology

Earlier studies have shown that Artificial intelligence is already being incorporated into
both traditional and remote learning. These studies have used primary data, collected from
institutions using AIEd (e.g. Luckin et al. 2016; Prof. Arslan, 2015 ) to establish the influence
of artificial intelligence on both pedagogy changes and learner experience. One or both of the
methodologies below will be used in this research:

1. Comparing recent data in the AIEd implementation in at least three studies with data
from a decade to ascertain progress in the past decade. Analyzing this data will
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establish the both the advancement and the rate at which AI is changing remote
teaching and learning.
This method will be advantageous because it allows for usage of a large pool of data
to identify a pattern of growth or decline and the changes in pedagogy and learner
models. From the expanse of changes between the previous models and today models,
and taking into account basic assumptions of AI development in future, a clear
hypothesis will formulated.
2. Multi-case study of at least four remote education institutions in Hong Kong: two
using extensive artificial intelligence and two using minimal artificial intelligence.
Data will be collected through observation and participation through taking up time-
limited courses in each.
Data collected on both the teaching and learning experiences will be used to compare
the differences in both pedagogical and student experiences in both institutions to
examine the changes in the institutions with extensive employment of AIEd. This
method will offer a deep understanding from both teacher and student experiences.
Data will also be collected through interviews conducted on teachers, learners, and
administrators.

The method used will depend with the time limit of the research and the resources
available. This taken into consideration, the second method would be favored because of the
primary data collection possibility and the extent of the scope of data collection that it offers.
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References

Arslan, P. (2015). E-LEARNING EXPERIENCE WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

SUPPORTED SOFTWARE: An International Application on English Language
Courses.GLOKALde Is an Official E-Journal of UDEEEWANA, 1(3), 3rd ser., 61-66.
Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://www.glokalde.com/pdf/issues/3/Article3.pdf

Bunyatova, F. K., & Salamov, G. (2014). New Strategy of the Distance Education. Universal
Journal of Educational Research, 2(5), 403-405. doi:10.13189/ ujer.2014.020501

Castro, F., Vellido, A., Nebot, À, & Mugica, F. (2010). Applying Data Mining Techniques to
e-Learning Problems. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.551.3076&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Colchester, K., Hagras, H., Alghazzawi, D., & Aldabbagh, G. (2017). A Survey of Artificial
Intelligence Techniques Employed for Adaptive Educational Systems within E-
Learning Platforms. Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing
Research, 7(1), 48-59. doi:10.1515/jaiscr-2017-0004

Luckin, R., Holmes, W., Griffiths, M., & Forcier, L. B. (2016). Intelligence Unleashed: An
Argument for AI in Education. Open Ideas at Pearson. doi:9780992424886

Yousif, J. H., Saini, D. K., & Uraibi, H. S. (2011). Artificial Intelligence in E-Leaning-
Pedagogical and Cognitive Aspects. Proceedings of the World Congress on
Engineering,2. Retrieved March 13, 2018.