SwiftScore

It's Sunday. While you'd love to enjoy a day of rest, you're a teacher, so you know that's not likely. Instead, a stack of (possibly digital) papers eagerly awaits you. You've seen the AI headlines, and you start to think…

Can I use AI to grade my papers?

In short, yes. And the tech is more useful than you may realize. But is this a good thing? If you're interested in learning about the transformative power of AI in education, its benefits, its downsides, and what you can do about it, you've come to the right place.

What is AI?

Simply put, Artificial Intelligence is any technology that mimics human intelligence. While many tech bros are excited about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which could perform as well as or better than humans in an array of tasks—don't fret—we may be years and years away from such paradigm-shifting technology.

Instead, we have large language models (LLMs), a type of generative AI that uses probability to predict a set of words a user might care about. It's powerful, but it has some real limitations. Tools like ChatGPT are really good at guessing (like what's the right answer on the MCAT) and really bad at coming up with unique ideas (like generating unique art).

What can't AI do in the classroom?

There are many things AI in education can't do and never will be able to do. Many of these things are the skills teachers bring to the classroom. These include:

Emotional support
Inspiration and motivation
Building relationships
Evaluating critical thought
Teaching students (well)

What can AI do in the classroom?

That being said, it's really good at automating monotonous tasks that require little in-person interaction and a lighter cognitive load. Large language models in education can be excellent at:

Sending emails
Performing administrative tasks (such as enrollment, scheduling, and attendance)
Grading assignments with objective answers (history, biology, statistics, economics, psychology, English)

What does AI mean for teachers?

Because teaching requires critical thought and emotional engagement, AI presents an exciting opportunity: it can empower teachers to spend time at what they do best—teach! Each hour you spend locked away with a red pen is now an hour you can spend creating inspiring lesson plans, holding engaging office hours, or resting up to be the best version of yourself for your students.

Are there downsides to AI entering the Education space?

Of course. Like all things, AI isn't perfect. And some tools are flat-out bad. I'm particularly skeptical about those that automate a teacher's true skill: intellectual and personal guidance. In other words, there are tools that are trying to replace teachers. This concerns me. I can say with absolute confidence that If an AI tutor taught me, I wouldn't be the same person I am today.

However, I wouldn't fear too much for your job; history and human nature will show the harsh limits of tools that try to replace teachers, and they'll soon be forgotten. However, if you mourn the dollars that teachers and schools are throwing away at this poor tech, I won't stop you.

How can I take advantage of AI right now?

You can use this new technology to spend more time inspiring your students and finding deserved moments of rest.

That's why my brother and I have poured our hearts into making a tool that our former high school teachers LOVE. SwiftScore uses new technology to save them time grading. It allows teachers to create an assignment and generate a rubric with AI so they can instantly grade assignments that students submit. It's shockingly personalizable and saves teachers hours every week. I hope it can do the same for you, too. 💙