Cognitive computing in education
Cognitive Computing, AI, and ML are some of the trending buzzwords of this generation. The rapid pace at which these technologies are integrating with our day-to-day lives has turned them into a massive force in driving the global economy and formulating sustainable development strategies. These topics are gradually becoming subjects of increasing importance in both academia and industry. People around the world have been investing their valuable time and resources in investigating the potential applications of these technologies in different sectors. One of the most promising applications is the sustainability of education. While Artificial intelligence aims to solve a given problem through the best possible algorithm, Cognitive computing is a subset of Artificial intelligence that aims to mimic human behavior, thoughts, and actions. Both facilitate computer vision, self-teaching algorithms, natural language processing, and data mining to solve complex problems. Based on their ability to acknowledge, reason, and learn, they can be quite useful in shattering the traditional educational system and fostering sustainable growth in this domain. These technologies can introduce several new products that can prove quite beneficial for all the stakeholders involved in this sector. Today, when students are forced to learn at the same pace, and a teacher cannot give equal attention to everyone in the class, these cognitive agents can be a game-changer. They can analyze the educational parameters of a student: aptitude, logical reasoning, speed, and preferred mode of learning and use this information to create personalized course work. The system can also adapt itself according to the needs and responses of a student, solve doubts instantly and notify the teacher so that required action can be taken immediately. This will not only help students gain more confidence but also provide an added advantage to those who face social anxiety by eliminating many uncomfortable interactions.
Teachers can also leverage this technology by automating their day-to-day classroom activities such as checking answer scripts, preparing mark sheets, and keeping a proper eye on academically challenged students. They can contextualize and personalize their lecture slides to make them more interactive and convey their insights in a meaningful way. The applications are not limited to classroom settings and can also be deployed by the administrative services and support staff to make things easier and efficient. The segregated specialized divisions, such as student finance, academic support, hostel support, career support, can use these cognitive services to address the concerns of students and automate the notification process to keep them updated with any changes. This will save valuable time and resources and increase the overall efficiency of the response system. Libraries can deploy this system to catalog their offline books, digital content, and research papers to enable faster search access for both students and faculty. Career counselors, which are often understaffed, can also enhance their role on campus by providing comprehensive service to students who seek their advice. Cognitive computing and Artificial Intelligence are bound to become ubiquitous in the educational sector. Various services availed by different stakeholders of this field are set to utilize one or more features of these emerging technologies. Their proper usage can ramp up the educational standards of any college, university, or school to deliver advanced services that will not only increase student retention but also expand the academic horizon beyond their walls. Many academic communities are all set to install these changes for uplifting their intellectual structure.