Digital teachers
There’s a study conducted on almost 90,000 Facebook users who voluntarily completed detailed personality questionnaire. This was used to establish volunteers’ personality traits. Then personality prediction ability was compared between Facebook algorithm and volunteers’ social circles. Facebook algorithm is a better judge of human personalities and dispositions even than people’s friends, parents and spouse. The algorithm needed a set of only ten Likes in order to outperform the predictions of work colleagues. It needed 70 Likes to outperform friends, 150 Likes to outperform family members and 300 Likes to outperform spouses. In other words, if you happen to have clicked 300 Likes on your Facebook account, the Facebook algorithm can predict your opinions and desires better than your husband or wife. If Facebook, Google and the like know so much about us, what we like, what we are interested in and whether we will be triggered by certain stories and can manipulate our desire (to a degree), then can it be put to good use? For example, creating an e-learning lesson that tailored to a particular person interests or psychological bent. This would truly be a personalised education, would it not?
As it happens there’s a company that is doing something similar in principles. Mindojo is developing interactive algorithms that not only teach students maths, physics and history, but also simultaneously study them and get to know exactly who they are. Digital teachers will closely monitor every answer student give, and how long it took them to give it. Over time, they will discern students’ unique weaknesses and strengths. They will identify what gets students excited, and what makes students’ eyelids droop. They could teach students thermodynamics or geometry in a way that suits their personality type, even if that particular way doesn’t suit 99% of the other pupils. And these digital teachers will never lose their patience, never shout, and never go on strike. Content development will take a long time and will be more complicated because it requires content to be non-linear. Once it is done, though, teaching and learning will be more automated and will be able to scale (i.e. can handle growing number of students in a capable and cost-effective manner). Cost of content delivery will be small or next to nothing even though the number of students increase. Human teachers will spend less time delivering content, but more time developing it, less time interacting with general students, but more time with at-risk students. Overall cost of education may reduce, while quality may improve.
Some may argue that computer program can never replace human touch. To me, the issue is not about replacing, it’s more supplementing. In education, it’s well established by Bloom back in 1985 that individual tutoring is remarkably more effective (by two standard deviation) than sitting in a large lecture theatre listening to one-size-fit all lectures as we are currently doing all over the world. Country-wide implementation of individual tutoring is, of course, financially prohibitive hence the current dilemma (i.e. cost vs quality of education). For a group of students in conventional classes who couldn’t quite catch up with the pace of the class may easily fall through the cracks. This is the group where digital teacher may be most beneficial as it can tailor the lesson for individual student.
As for human touch, there’s a company that specialises in this area. Mattersight corporation has the following advert: ‘Have you ever spoken with someone and felt as though you just clicked? The magical feeling you get is the result of a personality connection. Mattersight creates that feeling every day, in call centers around the world.’ Mattersight algorithm listens to your request, analyses the words you have chosen and your tone of voice, and deduces not only your present emotional state but also your personality type – whether you are introverted, extroverted, rebellious or dependent. Based on this information, the algorithm links you to the representative that best matches your mood and personality. The algorithm knows whether you need an empathetic person to patiently listen to your complaints, or you prefer a no-nonsense rational type who will give you the quickest technical solution. A good match means both happier customers and less time and money wasted by the customer-services department.
Perhaps Mattersight algorithm can be incorporated in Mindojo’s product so automated teaching/learning will be more well-rounded and will respond to students in a more emotionally appropriate manner. Other than responding appropriately to choice of words or tone of voice, computer is getting better at interpreting human facial expression too. If all these little pieces of technological advancements fall into place and fit well together, future of education is very exciting.
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