Digital solutions, AI seen to boost PHL education sector

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (edtech) and artificial intelligence (AI) can help improve efficiency among learners and educators in the Philippines, experts said.

“I do think if the Philippines doesn’t embrace hybrid learning and technology in face-to-face ways, it could easily slip behind in its competitiveness,” Martin Bean, chief executive officer of The Bean Centre and professor at the University of New South Wales, told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of an event this month.

The Bean Centre partners with education experts, technology companies, and education providers.

Ryan Lufkin, vice-president of Global Academic Strategy at Instructure Holdings, Inc., said AI can boost learning efficiency among both educators and students.

“AI literacy training is key to really upping that skill level for educators and students across the Philippines,” Mr. Lufkin said.

Instructure is the maker of learning management system Canvas, which is used in many  Philippine educational institutions. Canvas recently rolled out AI-powered tools like automated discussion summaries, content translation, and a Smart Search API feature.

“Discussion summaries seem simple, right? But if you’ve got a large class with 100 students, those discussions get very large very quickly. [By using Canvas’] discussion summary, we can hit a button and understand exactly what conversation is being had without having to go through hundreds of posts,” Mr. Lufkin said.

Mr. Bean said some uses of generative AI for student services include personalized course advice, interactive career development, sentiment analysis, and smart campus navigation, among others.

For learning and teaching, it can help with grading support, plagiarism detection, assessments, personalization of course materials, and content summarization, he added.

Both Mr. Bean and Mr. Lufkin said that educators should be given ample time for AI training to fully reap the technology’s benefits, as its use also comes with various risks and challenges.

“We need to make sure that the models we’re using aren’t skewing towards those biased feedback in the content that they generate,” Mr. Lufkin said.

According to the Digital Education Council Global AI Student Survey 2024, 58% of students feel they do not have sufficient AI knowledge and skills.

Meanwhile, 72% agree that universities should provide training for students on AI and expect faculty to be prepared for AI integration.

Mr. Bean added that edtech companies should also invest in offline and mobile-first technologies to support educations in countries that lack digital infrastructure.

“Instructors’ desire to double down on offline experiences for their technologies is a classic example of not running away from the challenge, but actually being prepared to invest in the technologies to meet the challenge,” he said. — A.R.A. Inosante