'Teachers use AI to teach, students use AI to learn, in the end only technology works'

Nowadays, with the help of AI, teachers can prepare lessons very quickly. Students can also solve their homework in just a few minutes thanks to AI. But in the end, using technology does not solve the problems of education.

This issue was raised at the workshop "Developing artificial intelligence capacity for learners" organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, One World Magazine and other units on October 28.

Prof. Dr. Le Anh Vinh, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, Ministry of Education and Training, said that artificial intelligence (AI) is present everywhere and is growing. Therefore, students need to be equipped with knowledge about AI as soon as possible.

In fact, schools have also been actively using AI in recent times. According to a report by the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, a 2023 survey of more than 11,000 secondary school students showed that 87% of secondary school students knew about artificial intelligence, of which 86% rated AI as beneficial to learning. For example, students using ChatGPT were able to answer difficult questions.

For teachers, a 2024 survey with nearly 35,000 participating general teachers showed that 76% of teachers had used AI in teaching, more than 60% of which were self-taught and self-researched for application.

Although it was exciting, Mr. Vinh assessed that technology still has not solved the core problems of education.

Prof. Dr. Le Anh Vinh, Director of Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, Ministry of Education and Training.

He pointed out the current reality, thanks to the support of AI, teachers can prepare lessons very quickly, just a few minutes to finish a good lecture or have a beautiful slide. When students receive homework, they only need to use AI, a few minutes can solve it all.

“Thus, teachers use AI to teach, students use AI to learn, in the end no one teaches and no one learns, only machines learn and become smarter,” said Professor Le Anh Vinh.

He gave another example, teachers can now use AI to grade papers very simply. With thousands of essays, teachers can grade very quickly, analyze the data and make recommendations to students.

“But do students need that? No one who writes an essay wants their paper read and critiqued by AI. So technology can do a lot of things but it doesn’t solve the core problem of education.”

In other words, according to Mr. Vinh, “technology is everywhere except education.”

How to implement AI in schools?

To do this, according to Professor Le Anh Vinh, it is necessary to rely on three main pillars. First of all, there needs to be a consistent policy framework to bring AI into schools. He cited current reality, in many countries around the world , consistent policies and long-term roadmaps have been introduced.

“When we spoke to Chinese experts, they proudly said that since 2004, the country has included artificial intelligence in the Computer Science subject at high school level. Thanks to that, the generation of students who studied this content - now around 30 years old - has become a quality source of human resources in artificial intelligence,” he said.

In addition, comprehensive and flexible curricula and materials are needed, along with human and financial resources.

Professor Le Anh Vinh said that to implement AI into the high school curriculum, there are currently three viewpoints, including: integrating AI into subjects; viewing AI as a part of Information Technology; viewing AI as an independent subject.

“Our view is that we need to integrate applications into subjects, and there must be independent teaching to provide specific AI content for students. The approach must be clear, step-by-step, with research evaluation.”

For example, at the primary level, it is the level of getting acquainted and playing with technology with the goal of helping students understand what AI is and the simple impacts of AI. At the secondary level, it is the foundation level, helping students practice thinking and skills with the goal of developing basic competencies, applying and initially analyzing the social impacts of AI.

At high school level, it is the construction level, aiming to help students confidently use AI, understand some basic principles and design and adjust simple AI tools...

Mr. Vinh added that the Department of General Education is also developing a pilot implementation plan in the 2025-2026 school year and based on the pilot results, consider implementing it nationwide.

Dr. Tran Trong Tung, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology Information, former Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, said that in the field of education, AI is opening up completely new learning and teaching methods.

Learners can interact, discuss, and be supported by “virtual assistants”, making the knowledge acquisition process more vivid, personalized, and effective. In addition, AI also helps expand learning capabilities, eliminating limitations of space and time.

However, AI also brings with it significant challenges. A recent story in the media is about a student who regularly uses an AI assistant to communicate and confide in life and study. But one day, because of too much stress, this student asked for advice from AI. The AI ​​gave the wrong advice, causing this student to act foolishly.

According to Dr. Tung, this is a strong warning bell. When technology becomes the closest “friend” of humans, especially young people, the responsibility of guiding and educating digital skills becomes more urgent.

In the context of AI tools like ChatGPT being widely used, teachers also face the "headache" challenge when grading papers: not knowing whether the students did it themselves or ChatGPT did it.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thay-dung-ai-de-day-tro-dung-ai-de-hoc-cuoi-cung-chi-co-cong-nghe-lam-viec-2457194.html