AI and Education: A Guide for Parents

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how Kiwi families interact with technology and reshaping the way children learn. With the many challenges parents and caregivers face daily—whether it’s the complexity of school subjects or the difficulty of keeping children focused—AI can be a powerful ally in the educational journey.

AI offers tools that help make the teaching process more accessible, personalised, and dynamic. By leveraging AI, parents can facilitate understanding of difficult topics, providing explanations adapted to their children’s age and developing study plans that meet each student’s unique needs.

Educational technologies based on AI have the potential to transform learning, allowing children to progress at their own pace, receive immediate feedback, and improve their skills in a practical and efficient manner. Additionally, these tools can provide greater autonomy for children while parents engage strategically and productively in the educational process.

AI doesn’t just complement traditional teaching methods; it offers new possibilities for promoting a more interactive and adaptable learning environment. However, the role of parents and educators remains essential. The use of AI should be viewed as a complement, where technology acts as a facilitator in the learning process and cognitive development of children.

Age-appropriate Explanations

One of the most powerful characteristics of AI is its ability to adjust the complexity of its responses according to a child’s level of understanding. This is especially important in early childhood education, where learning needs vary dramatically across different age groups.

Younger children, for example, learn more effectively when concepts are presented simply, with visual examples and stories. Teenagers, on the other hand, can benefit from more detailed and technical explanations.

Tools like Khan Academy use AI to assess student comprehension and adjust the content presented as needed. In the case of Khan Academy, the AI Khanmigo helps you think and never offers a direct answer. You’ll be encouraged to think deeply and critically to solve problems.

For teenagers, AI platforms can offer more complex challenges, stimulating critical thinking and problem-solving. For example, when studying history, an AI can present a simplified summary of historical events for a 10-year-old, while for a 15-year-old, it can provide a more detailed analysis with different perspectives on the topic.

This adaptability is an important advantage of AI, as it ensures that each child receives the right amount of information at the right time. This helps avoid the frustration associated with learning concepts that are too advanced or the stagnation when content is too easy.

Creating Personalised Learning Plans

Another significant benefit of AI in education is the possibility of creating fully personalised study plans for each child. Every student learns in a unique way, and AI can identify areas where the child struggles and adjust content to reinforce these skills. Tools like Smartick and IXL use AI algorithms to analyse student performance in real-time, adapting the pace and topics as needed.

When creating an individualised study plan, AI not only analyses the child’s correct or incorrect answers but also examines how they arrive at these answers. For example, on platforms like Smartick, if a child has difficulty solving addition problems, the AI can suggest more exercises on this topic, providing tips and guidance until the concept is fully understood. This helps ensure that knowledge gaps are filled before moving on to more complex content.

These personalised plans can also include a study schedule that adjusts to each child’s rhythm. A clear example of this is the IXL platform, which allows parents to view their child’s progress in different subjects and adjust learning goals based on this data. With detailed reports, parents can identify patterns of difficulty and work with their children to overcome these obstacles.

For New Zealand students following the national curriculum, this personalised approach can be particularly valuable in helping children master key competencies while progressing through the different learning areas at their own pace.

Using AI to Reinforce Specific Skills

Beyond creating personalised study plans, AI is also highly effective for reinforcing specific skills, such as mathematics, science, and languages. In mathematics, for example, tools like Photomath and Microsoft Math Solver stand out by providing complete solutions to complex problems. These tools use AI to not only solve equations but also to explain each step of the process, helping the child understand how to reach the answer.

In the field of science, platforms like Labster use AI to create virtual laboratories where students can conduct experiments without the need for a physical laboratory. This not only makes learning more accessible but also offers a practical and safe way for children to explore scientific concepts interactively. AI is used to provide students with real-time feedback on their experiments, helping them improve their understanding of the experiment’s concept.

When it comes to language learning, applications like Duolingo use AI to personalise lessons according to the child’s fluency level, adapting grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation exercises as the student progresses. AI also provides instant feedback, helping to correct errors effectively and reinforce learning. This personalised approach makes the process of learning a new language more dynamic and engaging, allowing the child to advance at their own pace.

AI Tools that Facilitate Parent Engagement

One of the great advantages of AI in education is the ability to monitor a child’s progress accurately and offer valuable insights to parents. Through performance dashboards and detailed reports, AI learning tools allow parents to track their children’s development in real-time. Platforms like IXL and Khan Academy provide parents with a detailed view of their children’s performance, pointing out their strengths and areas that need more attention.

This transparency facilitates active parent engagement, who can use this information to make informed decisions about the study plan and areas that need more focus. Additionally, AI platforms frequently suggest complementary activities based on the child’s performance, allowing parents to extend learning at home.

Another benefit of AI tools is their ability to establish a connection between parents and teachers. In some cases, learning platforms share detailed reports with educators, ensuring that both parents and teachers are aligned regarding the child’s progress and can collaborate to improve the learning process. This promotes a more collaborative and comprehensive approach to teaching, where technology facilitates communication and personalisation of learning.

For busy Kiwi parents juggling work and family responsibilities, these tools can be especially valuable, offering insights and suggestions that help them support their children’s education efficiently, even with limited time.

Conclusion

AI offers a wide range of benefits for children’s education, providing a more tailored, interactive, and effective learning experience. Parents can rely on AI to assist in their children’s development, offering clear explanations, developing personalised study plans, and reinforcing essential skills.

The role of AI is not to replace human interaction but to complement the teaching provided by parents and teachers, offering tools that optimise the teaching and learning process. With the use of AI-powered educational technologies, parents have powerful resources at their disposal to ensure that their children reach their full potential in studies through these reinforcement tools.

For New Zealand families navigating the unique aspects of the local education system, AI tools can provide valuable support in aligning home learning with school curricula, helping children develop the skills they need to succeed in their educational journey.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)