If you walk into a university library at night you will notice something right away. The students are not just reading books. Typing on their computers. A lot of them are talking to computer systems that help them understand math problems rewrite their essays fix mistakes in their computer code or guide them through problems one step at a time. This is what they do now. There was no deal made about it. It is the way things are done now. University libraries are. This is the new normal, for students.
For a time universities thought that teaching was special. They believed it needed people to be there in person to make decisions and to understand each other. Universities thought machines could help with things like paperwork and maybe even grading papers. The important part of teaching was something that only people could do. This idea is still nice to think about. It is just not as true as it used to be a years ago. Universities are starting to see that teaching is not as different as they thought. The real work of teaching is still done by people. Machines are getting better at helping with some parts of it. Teaching is something that universities are still trying to figure out. They are not sure what the future of teaching will look like. Universities are looking at teaching. They are seeing that machines are getting better at doing some things that people used to do. The idea that teaching belongs to people is still an idea but it is not as true as it used to be. Teaching is. Universities are trying to understand what this means for them and for the people who work there for the universities and, for the teaching.
What has changed is not the technology but also the pace of things. The tools that used to be found in research labs are now all around us. These tools are really good at explaining things in a way that’s easy to understand. They do this patiently without getting frustrated. If a student asks the question five times the tool will still answer it without getting annoyed. The tool can even change its answer, on the spot to help the student understand better. For a lot of students this tool is the place they go when they do not understand something. They might talk to the lecturer later. The tool is their first stop.
When you are actually dealing with life this is not just some big idea that people talk about. It is something that you see happening in things that happen every day. For example a student in their year of college is sitting at home at midnight really struggling to understand their calculus homework.. A parent who works is trying to fit in some studying during their breaks at work.. Someone who is learning a new language is asking their teacher to explain things in a way that they can understand, not just what is average for the whole class. In these kinds of situations automation does not seem like something to be scared of it seems like something that can really help, like a relief. Automation is what makes these small moments easier automation is what people need in these situations. That is why automation feels like relief.
Universities are facing an uncomfortable situation. The thing is, teaching has always been about being, in charge and knowing what you are talking about. Who is smart enough to teach something? Who gets to decide what it means to understand something?
Now some of this power is slowly moving to a place. It is not something that is officially happening. You will not find it in any rules or documents.. It is happening in real life. Students are learning things before they even get a grade and a lot of the time there is not a teacher involved.
Lots of teachers say that teaching is not about explaining things to students. Teaching is about caring for the students doing what is right and using judgement. Machines cannot hear the worry in a students voice. They do not think about what’s fair or what might happen later on. The fact that machines cannot do these things is still important.. This does not fully answer the question about teaching. Teaching is about more than machines or computers. Teaching is, about care and ethics and context and judgement. Machines are not able to do these things like teachers can.
The big problem is scale. Automated systems do not get tired like people do. They work all the time they do not have set hours like offices do. Automated systems also do not have the biases that people have. For universities that are dealing with a lot of students and not a lot of money scale is a deal. The idea is not to get rid of teachers but to use automation to help out until people get used to it. It just becomes a normal part of how things work.
Some institutions are trying to think of time. Others are. Hoping that the moment will slow down a bit.. It will not slow down. The next wave of technology which is combining software with robots and more advanced systems, for tutoring students is already coming. By the time committees figure out what all this means and agree on some definitions students will already be using these tools, like the software and the physical robots to learn new things.
This moment is uncomfortable because it makes universities ask questions they have been avoiding for a long time.
If a system can give the explanations then what is the value of a human teacher.
Universities have to think about what a human teacher’s good, for.
If students learn things before they even get to class then what is the point of the classroom.
If we can tell how well someone understands something by looking at patterns and data then who gets to decide what it means to know something.
The universities have to think about what knowing something means and who decides that when it comes to the students and the human teacher and the system that gives explanations.
There are risks when it comes to education. Education can become cold. It can be reduced to just making things work better and faster.. Saying that automation is not changing the way we teach does not help anyone. It just means that platforms and vendors are in charge by default and that is what happens when we do not do anything about it. Education is what is, at stake here. Education is what we need to think about.
Universities have adapted before, from printing presses to online courses. This shift feels different because it touches the core of what teaching is. The choice now is not between humans or machines. It is whether institutions will actively shape how both coexist, or wake up later to find the rules already written by someone else.
