What is the change? And how exactly will our roles change in future with the advance of AI?
Let’s answer this question with the help of an example.
Duolingo, the language learning app is heavily reliant on AI and is an example of adaptive learning. Apparently, software engineers, and language and pedagogy experts collaborated to develop this app. Co-founder, Severin Hacker, is a computer scientist while Luis von Ahn, the other co-founder is a software developer. They read a number of books to understand how language is taught and then developed basic courses for native English speakers to learn Spanish and German. They also identified the commonly-used words in both these languages, translated them into English and then composed simple sentences using the words. The founder duo also hired linguists and experts in second-language-acquisition (pedagogy experts) to add grammar tips and conjugation tables (a table in grammar that depicts verb forms based on tense, person and number).Â
Going forward, we will see many such applications in learning, specifically personalized learning and adaptive learning. And as you saw through the Duolingo example, when AI-based learning platforms are designed, we will need subject experts, pedagogy experts or instructional design experts, and technical experts to collaborate. Of course, the development process will change and we will need to understand how AI can be integrated and used to enhance learning.
Here is how AI has changed the way we work as instructional designers.
Content Curation and Creation
AI tools are now capable of producing content such as text, images, and interactive elements, minimizing the need for designers to build everything from scratch. This will help instructional designers to focus on curating, enhancing, and tailoring AI-generated materials to align with specific learning goals.
Data Analysis and Personalization
AI can look at learner data to spot patterns, predict where someone might struggle, and recommend personalized learning paths. That means instructional designers now need to know how to read this data and use it to create more customized learning experiences. In short, we will need to become comfortable working with data.
Increased Collaboration
Since AI takes care of a lot of the technical work in content creation, instructional designers have more time to team up with subject matter experts, learners, and all stakeholders involved in the design and development of learning experiences.
Note
As AI-generated content becomes more common, designers need to make sure it follows good teaching practices, is inclusive and free from bias, and is of good quality.