Artificial intelligence to aid teaching and learning

A clear trend can be seen in the experiment proposals received by Testbed Helsinki. An increasing number of offered solutions aim to utilize artificial intelligence in one way or another. In the EdTech experiments conducted at the turn of the year and early 2024, even the majority of solutions were based on AI.

— The dramatic rapid development of artificial intelligence has also affected schools. Large language models are forcing schools to change their teaching practices. At the same time, they offer great opportunities to ease teachers’ work and develop teaching. Machine learning solutions can, among other things, facilitate differentiated instruction in the classroom both upwards and downwards, says Antti Värtö, Senior Advisor for Business Helsinki’s EdTech experiment platform activities.

AI as a math tutor

With Assari, middle and high school students can develop their math skills. Assari functions like a chatbot. The learner can ask it for help with their math tasks, and it assists the learner without directly providing the answers. Assari can be used in various ways. For instance, mathematical formulas can be entered through the interface, or a photo of the task can be uploaded to Assari. The solution is based on LLM, or ‘Large Language Models’ AI. Assari understands practically all languages, and the student can ask for help in their native language.

— In the experiments, we noticed that using AI was initially somewhat unfamiliar to many teachers and students. They tried it bravely and experienced success. We received a lot of expert feedback that supports our product development, and end users want to continue using our learning platform and AI tutor, says Johannes Korpela, one of the company’s founders.

— Based on the feedback we received, we are making a significant investment in product development, user-friendliness, and expanding our customer base, adds Korpela.

AI as an early childhood education program planner

Tinyapp Oy’s new AI-based chatbot, Elina Assistant, facilitates the planning and documentation work of early childhood education teachers. Elina can ask the teacher for information such as the size of the group, what they want to learn, the type of space available, and so on. Elina then plans activities for the group for the desired time, from one hour to a week-long program.

— The experiment went great. The process was very clear and well-planned. I definitely recommend Testbed Helsinki’s EdTech experiments to other companies. This is a convenient way to get feedback from end users and interact with professionals, says Taina Mikkola from Tinyapp Oy.

AI supporting language teaching

The AI-based solution from the Canadian company Viduu offers support for language teaching. Viduu classifies YouTube videos according to the difficulty level of the language used in them and marks them according to the CEFR framework. With this solution, teachers can use videos that match their learners’ language levels and topics that interest them. Viduu creates multiple-choice questions from the videos. The teacher can choose which types of questions to emphasize, such as grammar or listening comprehension.

AI supporting the achievement of learning goals

Alfons Education’s learning platform has been used for several years for learning mathematics and native language. Now the experiment involved developing a solution intended to support all subjects. The new version strongly incorporates curriculum goals, making it easier for teachers to assess learners’ progress. The focus of the experiment was the platform’s AI feature, where AI creates text for learners based on the teacher’s commands and generates multiple-choice questions from the text.

— With our solution, teachers can use AI to create material they believe will benefit their students and support curriculum goals. We received encouraging and positive feedback from teachers about the AI features. I believe AI will change many aspects of teachers’ work in the coming years, reflects Rami Lappalainen from Alfons Education.

AI in EdTech solutions benefits everyone

The experiments with AI-powered EdTech innovations were rewarding for companies, teachers, and learners alike. User experiences were positive, and often teachers were even surprised by the ease of using AI tools.

— In less than a year, AI has transformed from a relatively useless toy into an astonishingly capable tool unlike anything seen before. Therefore, it is no wonder that most people still have no experience using AI to support their work. This applies to teachers as well. It is great that we have companies that have leveraged the opportunities offered by large language models. They have adapted them in a way that makes it as easy as possible for teachers to use them. I am sure that the teachers who participated in these experiments will continue to be pioneers in their work communities and will know how to utilize AI in various tasks in the future, summarizes Värtö.

There was pedagogy to be found there. The plans always had a clear structure, ensuring that activities progressed correctly.

teacher, Tinyapp’s Elina experiment

Elina provided clear guidance for starting, ending, and evaluating activities.

teacher, Tinyapp’s Elina experiment

I have received many good new ideas and deepened my existing plans. And if I had no ideas, I got really good inspiration and worked on it more.

teacher, Tinyapp’s Elina experiment

This really gives good advice!

pupil, Assari experiment

It’s convenient to get advice in Arabic.

pupil, Assari experiment