UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE RIO NEGRAO- SEDE ATLÁNTICA

EXAMEN FINAL DE INGLÉS I

Disaster is a laboratory for innovation. During a war, or after an earthquake, whole

societies mobilize to answer the immediate challenge, while a team of researchers
looks for a way to transform the crisis into advances that will improve lives, or save
lives, in the future.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is such a challenge. For Zachary Pardos, an assistant
professor at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education and the School of
Information, the crisis brings a persistent question: With tens of millions of students
across the world forced to stay home from school, and shutdowns in some areas
likely to continue in the fall, how can we assure that they get the best possible
education?
 UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE RIO NEGRAO- SEDE ATLÁNTICA
EXAMEN FINAL DE INGLÉS I

Pardos is a specialist in adaptive learning technologies, studying the deep dynamics

of student learning to build user-friendly tools that (1) are both powerful and subtle.
He has worked closely with teachers and students at every level to integrate the
technology into everyday curricula. In an interview, he (2) describes how these
emerging support systems engage students and evaluate their strengths and
weaknesses, even when (3)they’re not in the classroom. The systems are not an
online course, but rather an online tutor, driven by artificial intelligence, that (4) can
assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses and deliver personalized individual
instruction.

[This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.]

1)______________________________________ ?

Yes, I think it can. The emergency move away from traditional classrooms has caused
a reduction in instructor-student contact hours. A lack of contact hours could be
partially compensated for with adaptive technology, where in those moments where
students can’t have synchronous learning sessions (with teachers, in real time), they
can be interacting with a technology that (5) has the capacity to personalize
instruction — a limited capacity, but more so than a video or textbook.

2)_______________________________________?

Yes, I do. Definitely. Now that so many educators have had to communicate, learn
and teach through the online medium, it can’t be ignored as an option to consider
in the future, nor can the question be ignored of what tools could be brought to
bear to improve the quality of learning in online and place-based environments. This
is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges experienced during the pandemic,
challenges such as lack of engagement and lack of a sense of connection with
students.

3)_______________________________________?

We will see technology become easier to integrate with what teachers are trying to
accomplish. Machine learning technology, especially natural-language processing,
will provide new pedagogical approaches and better coordinated peer-to-peer
learning opportunities.
 UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE RIO NEGRAO- SEDE ATLÁNTICA
EXAMEN FINAL DE INGLÉS I

4)_______________________________________?

Yes, I think there are some. One drawback is thinking that technology can do
everything. People need to learn academic subjects, but they also need to learn to
be people. They need to learn compassion, generosity, how to work together, how
to share responsibility and credit, and how to maintain relationships, which is
certainly a lifelong learning topic. How to become a good citizen who contributes to
the conversation on what society should value. You’re not going to have an adaptive
learning technology to teach that.