Technology will never fully replace human educators in the classroom, but as artificial intelligence and other complex technologies become more mainstream, it can help students grasp complex topics or gain proficiency in skills by delivering more consistent feedback than a person might be able to. At the University of North Carolina Greensboro, students in the Spartan Cyber Academy are using a virtual reality simulation to learn how to more effectively interview clients. An AI mentor asks follow-up questions and provides recommendations based on the interaction.
AI in the classroom isn’t just beneficial for students. At many institutions, AI teaching assistants are providing customized 24/7 support for students in certain classes, but this also benefits instructors. These tools answer common questions related to specific courses and also provide feedback on student work, which frees up instructors’ time.
On the IT side, modern observability tools are making it easier than ever for the tech team to get insights and alerts related to their digital environments. These holistic tools can be seen as an extension of a university’s IT team, monitoring security, networks, storage and applications in one platform. This performance monitoring ensures students, faculty and staff are able to work without disruption and IT teams can complete other tasks while these tools run in the background
The tools institutions deploy are no longer just enabling education; they’re participating in it. Technology is moving from the margins of campus life to the center of the academic experience, and today’s higher education institutions are continuing to reap the benefits of these modern partnerships.
