Artificial intelligence is changing how experts in engineering, aerospace, and energy interact with their work. And the same technology that students will later use in the field can teach them the skills they need to begin their careers. From streamlining the learning process to keeping learners engaged, AI will revolutionize education for the next generation of innovators.
Foster Independent Learning With Artificial Intelligence
Every student has a unique learning experience. While some students prefer collaboration and a social learning environment, other students may prefer to work through learning concepts on their own. Introducing AI into education gives students the ability to learn anywhere. They can access resources 24/7 and learn subjects independently.
For a field like engineering, this can prove to be especially useful to students as they look for more hands-on experience. Students can pursue internships and engage in coursework in their free time, maximizing their schedules.
Monitor Learning Tools Using Sensors
Students learning about engineering, energy solutions, and aerospace will require trainers comprised of numerous parts, such as our solar power generation trainer. Its PV panel and halogen lamps allow for light simulation so students can study photovoltaic panels, learn about the structure of a solar PV power plant, and understand how a solar power station operates.
AI equipment monitoring, often involving just a small sensor placed on the side of the equipment, can detect problems in equipment during the early stages, allowing educators to fix the problem before it becomes more costly. AI equipment monitoring typically consists of sensors that detect vibration, but they can be used to collect numerous forms of data, like machine temperature.
Create Stronger Collaboration Efforts
By tracking the learning of all students in a class, AI will understand the strengths and weaknesses of not only each student but of the group as a whole. Should an instructor want to pair students for a collaboration, the AI can make recommendations for pairings that would maximize the knowledge of each student.
Say that an educator wants students to create a project on wireless communications. A certain student may have a better understanding of conditioning a signal, while another student may have a better understanding of analyzing the results. Pairing these students together will help each to learn new skills. AI can also make recommendations that will pair stronger students together and weaker students together so that each student is intellectually challenged.
Provide Universal Access
No two learners are the same. From speaking different languages to managing a learning disability, each student will have strengths and limitations that affect the learning experience. Students who did not receive a strong early education may have a different approach to learning than a student who attended a personalized, high-quality early education. AI can level the playing field for students so that no one gets left behind.
Applications of AI that will provide universal access include language translators and modified course content. For instance, a student with ADHD may have no trouble understanding concepts but will struggle with focus. A structured and responsive AI system can keep these students on track and ensure they’re getting the same quality of education as everyone else.
Reduce Learning Expenses
Early AI methods required individual algorithms for different purposes. Over time, AI has transformed into a commodity that can be purchased in packages or as a solution for immediate use. While certain learning environments may require more customized solutions, readily available AI software that can be distributed throughout classrooms can reduce the costs of smart technology.
Take software that teaches students about wireless communications, for instance. These tools teach students how to convert physical phenomena to a measurable signal, then condition, acquire, and analyze the signal. AI technology can be integrated into this tool to add new features across the board, rather than adding different technology to individual trainers.
Identify Gaps in Training Modules
AI processes data at a faster rate than any human or previous technology could. With this increased processing speed comes the ability to get better insights into a given data set. The more data you include, the more precise the AI technology will become over time.
This can be applied to the classroom by storing data on student performance. AI can record the learning experience of every student and identify common concepts that students across the board struggle with. Training modules can then be modified to give students extra practice with difficult concepts.
Personalize The Student Experience
Educators focus on far more than teaching their students. Their roles often involve numerous administrative and repetitive tasks, like grading assignments, record-keeping, and lesson planning. AI can automate many of these tasks to free up hours of time for teachers and allow them to focus on their students.
When students have questions, educators won’t need to spend time trying to find the main problem area. Instead, they’ll have access to data that shows where student encounters difficulties and what leads up to these difficulties. Students may not understand or be able to articulate where they are having trouble, but data from AI will show educators the concept that is at the root of the problem. They can then address the root of the problem, which is a misunderstanding of a concept, rather than applying a surface-level solution.
Strengthen Concept Retention
Students often learn course material in segments. Sometimes, they’ll frequently use this knowledge in upcoming learning modules. In other cases, they may not need to apply this knowledge until much later in their studies or even their careers.
Using AI in education can store all of the data that students learn and create learning models that require students to apply learning from past lessons into their continued practice. This way, they will not forget what they learned and will better understand the relevance of each lesson instead of learning topics in isolation.
Bring Better Educational Products to Market Faster
Certain principles in engineering will always serve as a necessary foundation for students: circuits, electronics, and signals and systems. But other concepts like 5G and autonomous vehicles are so new that fundamental and universal learning courses for these areas don’t exist yet.
In future years, however, this will likely change as these technologies become a crucial element of any engineering education. Before any trainers or learning modules are brought to market, they must be tested and evaluated. Artificial intelligence can automate the testing process for learning equipment to bring it to market much more quickly, keeping students on course with technological advances.
Boost Support Outside the Classroom
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, classrooms everywhere have learned to adapt to remote learning. Despite the return to a traditional classroom setting, remote education is not going anywhere. Portable circuit systems and learning materials are a must for educators who wish to accommodate the needs of increasingly diverse students.
AI can boost support for learners outside the classroom through methods like guiding students through the application of theoretical concepts, answering student questions in real-time, and keeping track of progress information for educators.
Guide the Learning Process
Students may know the general field they want to pursue without knowing the specific route they want to take. In some cases, they may not even know the options available to them. For instance, engineering is a brand term that encompasses electrical, computer, engineering, civil, and nuclear. AI can guide students through their learning experience by providing resources about what courses students should take and learning paths that may be of interest.
Over time, the AI will collect data on students’ responses to recommendations and their chosen learning paths, modifying these recommendations to give future students even more accurate guidance.
Make Learning More Approachable
While some students are naturally drawn toward fields like engineering, other students may feel intimidated by the work necessary to work in this kind of field. Students may feel hesitant to pursue a notoriously difficult field with a high likelihood of failure. Introducing AI into education can bring students comfort, knowing that they’ll receive learning that’s designed for them and grows as they do.
The use of artificial intelligence in education will only continue to grow, from guiding students through their course content to aiding in the development of the latest teaching tools. Keep up with the times by giving students the best learning experience that technology can offer. Contact the SAAB RDS team to learn more about the tools we use to give students a cutting-edge education.