Dr. Mohamed Zaheeruddin
Lecturer- Accounting and Finance
Department of Business Administration
University of Technology and Applied Sciences- Shinas
Sultanate of Oman
Mr. Samiulla N Manik
Lecturer- Marketing
Department of Business Administration
University of Technology and Applied Sciences- Shinas
Sultanate of Oman
The world today is embarking the ways of technological advancements in every field. Education is not left behind. Gone are the days when basic classroom teaching creates interest and enthusiasm among students. The week-long preparation of an educator on curriculum is now available by a student at the fingertip with one click within a fraction of time. Artificial intelligence has transformed the education system with a revolutionary teaching method, point-to-point elucidation, highly effective and efficient learning experiences. It is a game changer of today’s higher education. This modern tool has made such an efficient pedagogy that reflects all student's needs with different backgrounds and levels of understanding. No child is left behind in learning, with the help of these tools with the condition that these tools are used appropriately by the educator.
Some of the basic Artificial Intelligence tools for educators are: Adaptive learning platform tool enables educators to understand how technology makes it easy for learners to find very customized, specific solutions to their queries. Content Creation Tools permit the educator to create their own desired content, like images, posters, and videos, which can be used academically as well as professionally. Data Analytic Platforms enable professors to analyze various forms of data with simple prompts. In the process of data analysis, the biggest difficulty is the use of complex formulas and tools. AI-enabled tools help instructors to simplify this process. Data decision-making tools allow the educator to summarize, highlight, and describe the phenomena or data behaviour for decision-making. Virtual Reality allows the lecturer to find ways of keeping their students engaged with high enthusiasm in the class.
These Artificial intelligence tools in higher education can adjust the difficulty levels of the course contents based on the student’s abilities, easier student and parent communication, tracking of student progress, and generation of individual student performance reports. The administrative process also has certain boons by adapting such AI tools to the organizational mechanism of higher educational institutions.
At a global level, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has plans for an inherent human-centered approach teaching to AI and has already developed a framework in the publication of the Beijing Consensus focusing on the willingness of education policymakers in AI.
Oman with a vision 2040 is not left behind in advancements of Higher education. As a strategic direction of education, lifelong learning, and scientific research leading a knowledge-based society and competitive national talents, Oman focuses on developing different levels of the education system by boosting the quality of higher education to graduate, the country's youth with high-performing skills in the labor market locally and globally, that can be highly possible only with embeding AI in education system.
Notwithstanding with abundant advantages of Artificial Intelligence in higher education, the adaption also has certain challenges such as ethical issues, over-dependency on technology limiting self-creativity, designing and implementing equity applications, and so on.
In conclusion, AI has gigantic potential to renovate higher education by enhancing educating skills and refining learning outcomes unless the challenges are addressed appropriately.