Back in October 2023, I hounded a group of first-year students at the Université Côte d’Azur until they relented and joined my team to sign up for the European Commission’s DigiEduHack. The first-year MSc Smart EdTech students had little to no experience in hackathons, design thinking, or boot camps, but this did not put me off! I had spent several months researching the project and knew that no matter the outcome, merely participating would be a transformative learning experience for them.
We signed up and decided to tackle the challenge of upskilling education with AI, in a hackathon hosted by Dutch company, Kimitisik, and waited. Finally, in November 2023, we had 24 hours to complete our journey of ideation, development, and the final pitch of our innovative solution – IAILE (Interactive AI Learning Ecosystem).
Our adventure began on a Friday after work at the kick-off meeting, during which we shared our perspectives and decided on the problem which affects so many educational institutions in Europe: overcrowded classrooms and student drop-out rates. Using my ongoing research on the impact of GenAI on student motivation and self-efficacy as the theoretical foundation, we brainstormed ideas for an AI-powered solution to enhance modern education on Saturday.
Through Saturday and Sunday, with the guidance and mentoring of the subject matter experts at Kimitisik, I ideated and developed the details of the solution.
Then it was my turn to mentor and guide my teammates as we fine-tuned my proposal. While my team tidied my basic pitch deck and made editing suggestions for my design document, I created a rudimentary prototype. Then we analysed the design doc and the pitch deck, I gave feedback and the team worked on a second draft.
After making a final edit of the slides and design document, the moment of truth arrived as I faced the camera to pitch the solution to the local jury.
So, what’s the product?
IAILE: Interactive AI Learning Ecosystem. IAILE stands at the intersection of AI and education, aiming to balance technology with human interaction. It addresses overcrowding in schools, high dropout rates, and outdated curricula by introducing a personalised learning management system tailored for school students across Europe.
Features of IAILE
- Personalised learning experiences through an adaptive learning management system.
- Integration with existing platforms like Google Classroom.
- A Virtual Education Assistant (VEA) to augment student autonomy, allowing for more meaningful teacher-student interactions.
- Innovative teaching approaches, focusing on group-based learning and individual attention.
Developed using OpenAI’s GPT, IAILE currently has one VEA prototype, which was tailored to Cambridge’s IGCSE Geography course: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-FkIy7LtwF-vea
(Users must have ChatGPT plus to test this beta version)
IAILE is designed to mitigate the effects of overcrowding by providing personalised learning experiences that work in tandem with teacher-led instruction and learning facilitation.
Adaptive Learning Management System (ALMS)
Personalisation through data: ALMS uses performance metrics like quiz scores and time spent on activities to understand each student’s learning patterns, allowing for the dynamic adaptation of content.
Virtual Education Assistant (VEA)
Customised Learning Companion: VEA acts as a responsive learning companion, adapting to each student’s pace and learning style.
VEA supports a flipped classroom approach, where students first engage with material through ALMS and then apply their learning in classroom settings, allowing them to alternate between focused individual learning paths and more interactive and group-based teacher-led learning experiences.
Reflections
Participating in DigiEduHack was not just about developing my EdTech solution, a catalyst for rethinking how AI can revolutionise education, it tested my ability to guide other educators in thinking outside the box about the future of education.
While I celebrate our success in the hackathon, proud that our disruptive technology solution was chosen to represent Kimitisik for the global finals where we positioned second place, I invite everyone to head over to the DigiEduHack website and explore the wealth of ideas that emerged from this edition of the hackathon.
A huge shout-out to Kimitisik, and DigiEduHack for their support and collaboration in developing this AI education solution!
Let’s embrace this tech-driven educational renaissance together!