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Chapter 9
Machine Learning in Educational Technology
Ibtehal Talal Nafea
Ibtehal Talal Nafea
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72906
Abstract
Machine learning is a subset of artiicial intelligence (AI) that helps computers or teaching
machines learn from all previous data and make intelligent decisions. The machine-learning
framework entails capturing and maintaining a rich set of information and transforming it
into a structured knowledge base for diferent uses in various ields. In the ield of educa-
tion, teachers can save time in their non-classroom activities by adopting machine learning.
For example, teachers can use virtual assistants who work remotely from the home for their
students. This kind of assistance helps to enhance students’ learning experience and can
improve progression and student achievement. Machine learning fosters personalized learn-
ing in the context of disseminating education. Advances in AI are enabling teachers to gain
a beter understanding of how their students are progressing with learning. This enables
teachers to create customized curriculum that suits the speciic needs of the learners. When
employed in the context of education, AI can foster intelligence moderation. It is through this
platform that the analysis of data by human tutors and moderators is made possible.
Keywords: machine learning, artiicial intelligence education, virtual assistant education
sector
1. Introduction
Currently, technology is everywhere including the education sector, where it has proven to be
of great importance for realizing the learning outcomes for students. Education is no longer just
the teaching of text or requiring the student to memorize manuscripts. The instructional process,
both inside and outside of the classroom, has become an activity with measurable goals and
results. Over time, educational techniques have turned out to be a dynamic part of the inputs
and outputs of the learning process. Moreover, these practices have grown into a vital part that
plays a signiicant role in broadening the advancement of the components of the learning system,
upgrading the rudiments of the curriculum, and making both more efective and resourceful.
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176 Machine Learning - Advanced Techniques and Emerging Applications
These components are used in the process of planning, implementing, evaluating, following-up
and developing objectives [1]. Machine learning has become a new frontier for higher educa-
tion. Being one of the strongest newer technologies, machine learning plays the main rules in
artiicial intelligent and human interaction. Machine learning is the innovative tool being used
to combat cancer, climate change, and even terrorism [2]. It is the new infrastructure for every-
thing. Consequently, machine learning helps computers to ind hidden insights without being
programmed to do so. Moreover, machine learning works as a good predictive.
• In this chapter, machine learning technology is used as a principle of educational activi-
ties. There are diferent ways of using machine learning technology in education, such as in
providing diverse learning options so a learner can discover what suits him/her best but in
a manner where all individual variances between pupils are considered. Machine learning
can also be used in review a lesson that was hard to understand [1]. Machine learning in ed-
ucation works in harmony with students’ needs, and at a time and place that suits them best.
• Virtual assistance plays a crucial role in education and is a good forum for machine learn-
ing use. A virtual assistant can interact in a conversation with students [1]. This interaction
involves conversational agents who assist students by using an application or website. The
process works is quite simple with the student needing to input text. On the other hand, the
agents execute the task and determine the appropriate response to the input before provid-
ing an easy response that the student can easily understand.
• Both machine learning and virtual assistants are used to interpret paterns and human in-
teraction which supports deeper learning and provides users with fast and accurate data.
This chapter proposes a new education framework that is powered by virtual assistance.
It provides customized research for students. The suggested framework allows teachers to
monitor their students’ progress through their learning activities at any time. This is the
best approach to training students to enhance their experience. The framework also helps
teachers save time that is normally spent in preparing lectures, creating exams, document
review, document creation, and light speciic research. The proposed framework facilitates
the leveraging of the most powerful technologies in improving the quality of education for
both student and teacher. Another advantage associated with this framework of machine
learning and virtual assistants is that it is less prone to the errors that usually encumber
human operations. If an error occurs, the framework allows it to easily troubleshoot the
problem and craft the appropriate resolution of the error.
2. Related works
With the recent increase in the spread and use of technology across the world, it has become
common for various sectors to adapt technology for use in their respective ields. This applies
the education sector as it does to any other ield. Terms such as artiicial intelligence (AI), deep
learning, and machine learning are now commonly used in education and by education pro-
fessionals. Indeed, in the educational ield, AI is used in machine learning. That is, machine
learning makes use of AI in its efort to teach machines how to look for diferent types of data.
Machine Learning in Educational Technology 177
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2.1. Machine learning
Currently, education and learning remains largely focused on feeding students with information
and hoping that it is retained. Accordingly, a student’s intelligence is assessed by testing their
ability to recall information previously taught. The problem is that this model ignores examining
how well the students understand the information and how they apply it in real-life situations.
This model has proven to be toxic over the years. More schools and education centers have begun
to realize how use of machine learning can make work more eicient and easier and have started
to adopt technology at an increasing rate. Indeed, machine learning can accommodate all kinds
of students. In the long run, machine learning is bound to produce the following advantages:
Customized and personalized learning – Machine learning is lexible enough to cater to all students
regardless of their learning speeds. By making use of algorithms that learn how the student
consumes information, machine learning allows the learner to move ahead only after they have
truly grasped the previous content. This process ensures that no student is overlooked or left
behind. This is true even if they are the only one in class that has not yet understood the con-
tent. The machine learning system also allows teachers to individually monitor student and
help them those areas where they are deicient. This contrasts with the traditional educational
method, which focuses on a one-size-its-all management where everyone in class is taught the
same way. This type of learning can be found in the EdTech and MagicBox learning systems [3].
Analytics of content—Refers to a machine learning system where teachers instruct students
by using machines. The machines are used to analyze the information teachers are using to
teach and to determine whether the quality of the content meets the applicable standards.
The machines are also used to help determine if the content taught to the students complies
with the intellectual ability of each student. Since students are taught in accordance to their
individual needs, their learning progress and understanding improve.
Grading—Machine learning systems are used to reduce the amount of time needed to grade
student work. In addition, machines are used to increase the eiciency and accountability
of the grading system. The system still allows for the larger portion of the grading to be
performed by teachers. However, machines aid in the analysis of student information such as
in the detection of plagiarism or cheating.
Simpliication of tedious tasks—In the traditional method of learning, teachers spend a substan-
tial amount of time in repetitive and tedious tasks, such as taking class atendance or gather-
ing of class assignments. Machines can be used to automate these tasks and reduce the time
or need for teachers to do them. Accordingly, teachers will have more time to focus on more
important tasks such as making sure that their students fully understand the learning material.
Students’ progress—By using machines, the teachers can monitor each student on a personal level
and evaluate their learning progress, individually. Machines can also provide additional learning
paterns of the students, which help teachers to determine the best ways of teaching the students.
As the above information makes clear, using machine learning in teaching brings numerous
advantages to the table. It is therefore advisable for every school to adopt these types of learning
platforms, such as the EdTech revolution program. With this, learning becomes easier, more
178 Machine Learning - Advanced Techniques and Emerging Applications
eicient and customizable to each student’s need [4]. By employing methods relating to digital
learning, there is the possibility of collecting a wide range of data about the behaviour of the
learner, especially in the learning activities. The measurements collected consist of variables like
completion time, video views, group discussion activities and test results. Measurements of this
nature are applicable in the context of feature engineering that leans on the machine learning
algorithms. Experts argue that the algorithms can ind a correlation between the speciic behav-
iour exhibited by learners, regarding their learning performance [5]. It is this outcome that is
used to determine the overall eiciency manifested by a particular machine program.
Recommender systems are the more obvious target of machine learning usage. The experience
of this technology is illustrated by its use on some of the more prominent software platforms
like Amazon and LinkedIn. Recently, Twiter has begun applying this technology to their
platform. Researchers in the education sector consider recommender systems as the most uti-
lized systems in modern times. In the context of human learning, recommender systems that
are oriented to learning in a speciic way have the capacity to assist learners properly identify
the appropriate content [6]. In this regard, there is a guarantee of realizing the projected com-
petence development objectives as far as machine-oriented education is concerned.
The advance in AI technology has allowed machine learning in education gain a considerable
amount of support. In fact, machine learning should be credited for making AI a possible and
fruitful endeavor in education. In achieving this result, machine learning has combined and
utilized the aspects of mathematical algorithms. Researchers in the vast education ield have
tried to introduce the concept of machine learning into the mainstream schooling system. The
goal has been to use machine learning as teaching assistants that can ease the job of human
educators [7]. This approach aids in data provision of the students’ performance, coupled with
suggested actions geared towards making improvements to the student’s learning experience.
The use of machine learning in tools related to education technology has been more signii-
cant in its overall applications. Experts have created a real-time platform capable of giving
immediate feedback to learners. The same platform has harnessed the eiciency and efective-
ness of online-based tutors. In fact, the platform has been credited with almost all the success
that takes place on the Internet. The latest platforms are so sophisticated that they are capable
of detecting and monitoring the reaction of the student concerning the concepts being taught.
This approach is known to reduce the misunderstanding normally experienced during the
learning process. The ability of these platforms to give early warning to tutors enables them
to avoid mistakes that would have otherwise been made during the learning process [8].
Tutoring systems based on AI is an interesting and resourceful concept, to the extent that it
employs substantial amounts of data that is coupled to machine learning, to ofer guidance
that is personalized and supplemental to the students. The feedback system provided by the
AI tutoring systems is critical in tracking the learners’ progress.
The adoption of machine learning technology has enhanced the concept of crowd-sourced
tutoring. The goal of crowd-sourced tutoring is to provide assistance from private tutors,
and in some cases, classmates who ill gaps in understanding by supplementing the content
learned in class. Students using social networking sites for learning purposes, like Brainy, are
enjoying the efectiveness of AI in the learning process. Most of the social networking sites
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that are education-oriented tend to employ AI algorithms which harness their networking
features. The algorithms also bring a personal touch to the learning process, making it more
appealing to the learner. In addition, AI increases the level of interactivity in these platforms,
which is helpful in fostering the learning process.
Machine learning algorithm works by having machines use software applications that assist
the machine to determine outcomes that are accurate. By using algorithms, the machines
can receive data, analyze it and then produce an output that is within an acceptable range.
Machine learning algorithms are divided into two major groups: supervised algorithms and
unsupervised algorithms. For supervised algorithms, people input information together with
the required results into the machine. With this, the machine can learn what is desired of it
when a similar command is inputed. For unsupervised learning, the machines are not fed
with the outcome that one would like [9].
In the education sector, machine learning algorithms have made normal operations easier,
faster and more eicient when compared to when they are done manually. This has proven to
be a game changer in education sector. One of the major beneits of its adoption has been to
help identify each student’s needs so that the teachers can diferentiate between problems gen-
eral to the class and those speciic to individual students. Accordingly, through machine learn-
ing, no student is overlooked or left behind. Additionally, with machine learning, students are
also given a platform from which they can voice their grievances so that the problems do not
escalate beyond resolution. The machines help in the grading, by monitoring the scores of the
students in their assignments and the tests. The machines also assist teachers by organizing
the information being taught to students. The inclusion of machine learning in education has,
therefore, made the education system more convenient for both teachers and students alike.
AI has enabled teachers and to a larger extension, schools, design textbooks and learning exercises
that can achieve a high degree of customization to the needs of the user. Content Technologies,
Inc. (CTI) is one of the major players in the industry. CTI tends to specialize on deep learning
concepts to create custom textbooks [9]. This is achieved by inputing a syllabus into the engine
of CTI. After that, the system absorbs the content to generate new paterns. It is then the work of
algorithms to use the knowledge gained for the purposes of creating textbook materials.
3. The architecture of the virtual assistance framework
Since students have diferent styles of learning, it is necessary to use a variety of assistance
to help increase the performance level of learning. Various machine learning algorithms and
techniques, such as decision-making algorithms and techniques, can be implemented for
allowing the virtual assistant to communicate with the students and teachers.
There are two main parts to the virtual assistants, namely, one for students and other for
teachers. Students can answer one or more virtual assistant’s questions. One or more spon-
sored links, related to the determined course, is then provided to the student. The sponsored
links can be voice, audio data, displaying video or textual information. Exam training and
test dates remainder are kinds of the virtual assistant that gets provided to learners. Also, the
180 Machine Learning - Advanced Techniques and Emerging Applications
proposed system helps students to manage their teamwork project. After the session with the
system, a student is provided with the feedback about his progress.
The system is also able to design presentations for speciic learners. Notably, diferent students
have diferent learning abilities; therefore, the system is able to compute a favorable learning
style for each student. The teacher monitors the progress of each student through feedback
about how each student performed in the sessions. This facilitates appropriate grading. Also,
the virtual assistant is able to point out areas of the course that need to be explored further to
enhance learning by providing additional reference materials to a topic. Also, the teacher is
able to identify which students need extra help using the feedback provided by the system.
The proposed architecture is a reliable virtual assistant website that not only helps teachers
and students to do their tasks in a shorter time but also allows them to coordinate their work.
4. Technical implementation
The underlying technical implementation of the virtual assistant system starts with creating
use cases for the product. The identiication of virtual assistants and the underlying technol-
ogy are required for moving ahead with the implementation of the proposed website [10]. The
following technical speciications have been identiied for building the virtual assistant website:
Software used:
• BitVoicer: Speech recognition.
• Python 2.7: Coding language
• Eclipse, Geany or your preferred interface for coding on Python Virtual COM Port.
To facilitate interaction between the virtual assistant website and the user, a software known
as Wit.ai is installed. Wit.ai ofers a perfect combination of voice recognition, and subsequent
machine learning in the context of developers. The software ofers services that concentrate on
converting verbal commands into text. Moreover, Wit.ai has the capability of understanding
the commands that are said. The most sophisticated forms of Wit.ai can be programmed to
understand commands whose prior understanding was scant or non-existent. This is crucial
in the educational context since learners tend to understand at varying paces. The extensive
capability of Wit.ai software to improve the interactivity of virtual assistant website can be
veriied by the fact that it has been incorporated by a number of notable social media net-
works, such as Facebook [10].
Clarifai is another service that can be added to the virtual assistant website to improve its
interactivity. Clarifai is a service geared towards AI, and it possesses the ability to decode
contents that is in an image and video format. Another strength associated with Clarifai is that
it possesses a deep learning engine that improves with its usage [10]. The tool is of paramount
importance when there is a need to make improvements in the AI prototype and grant it the
capability of seeing and recognizing objects.
Machine Learning in Educational Technology 181
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The virtual assistant experience with the users has been remarkable. All students who pro-
vided feedback regarding their interactions reported positive experiences. Fundamentally, the
issue of the ease of interactivity, friendly user interfaces and responsiveness were reviewed.
The irst student reported that the system has a friendly user interface that is not complex, thus
allowing a user to navigate through diferent sections of the system. The student added that
the system was highly responsive in terms of answering questions. He recounted that, in the
traditional class seting, he was afraid to ask questions in front of the other student. However,
the virtual assistant ofered personalized interaction where he could ask any questions, clari-
ications and point out his areas of weakness. The second student who experimented with the
software also found it quite useful. He emphasized that he liked the fact that he was able to get
immediate feedback on his questions. This was a vast improvement over the traditional way
of waiting to talk to the teacher after class, when the teachable moment has already expired.
Some instructors are always in a rush after inishing their classes. As such, they are unable to
allocate ample time to explain speciic concepts taught in class to the student. Therefore, the
student misses out on these concepts that might cause low academic performance. In other
cases, teachers recommend students with clariications to get the assistance of their class-
mates. This hampers full understanding as one needs to develop a rapport with their fellow
student to enhance learning, and others become intimidated. However, the virtual assistant
allocates enough time and is able to answer all questions, providing detailed explanations.
The third student said that she found it was an efective supplement to one teacher’s exten-
sive use of multiple choice exams. According to the student, while such exams might tell her
whether or not she knows the answer to a question, they do not help her understand the logic
underlying the answer. The virtual assistance was helpful in achieving that understanding.
The fourth student also reported satisfaction with the system. Firstly, the student confessed
to being a slow learner. This had really afected how she grasped concepts. Most of the times,
she felt left behind in classwork and had no one to consult as she was shy about her condition.
However, the system helped her to learn at her pace and recommended interactive learning
model that allowed her ask for clariication after every 10 minutes of the learning session. She
was enthusiastic to note that this has helped her understand most of the concepts taught in
class and generally improve her grades. Lastly, a teacher who had made use of the assistance
said it allowed her more time to igure out what her students actually understood and where
they were having diiculties. By so doing, it helped her know which areas needed much aten-
tion to enhance understanding. She recounted that teaching a class of 30 students can some-
times be diicult to know who understood well, who needed extra atention on a speciic topic
and what learning model suited a speciic group of students. The virtual assistant, according
to the teacher, answers these questions. The system is able to compile interactive activities to
address speciic learning outcomes to indent whether the students understood the topic.
5. Conclusion
Machine learning with AI has opened incredible possibilities in various ields. This is espe-
cially the case in terms of the education sector and education-related ields. This means that
future learning environments are likely to be highly personalized, with the ability to help
182 Machine Learning - Advanced Techniques and Emerging Applications
learners realize their utmost potential in the most fulilling way. There will be a steady adop-
tion of machine learning in various areas of concern for educational technology. In the initial
stages, its impact will not be clearly apparent or signiicant to the end user. Despite this, teach-
ers have started to see how tasks can be simpliied and more efectively completed through
the employment and application of machine learning technologies. The advances made in
adopting machine learning into education sector have signiicantly saved teachers’ time in
both the classroom and non-classroom-related activities. Stakeholders have welcomed this
unprecedented beneit, as it makes learning easier and more appealing.
The future work on machine learning, especially in the education context, shall witness the
development of more sophisticated AI tools. There are multiple prospects for designing com-
plex chatbots that will improve the sophistication of virtual assistants. This development shall
foster more human interactions that will replace emails and text messages. Already, plans
are underway for developing online virtual assistants named “Amy” or “Andrew” at x.ai
to schedule meetings with both tutors and learners. AI coupled with machine learning that
incorporates deep learning and natural language processing is projected to go a level higher
by incorporating more sophisticated systems laced with capabilities to adapt, learn and pre-
dict systems with utmost autonomy. The future works on these systems shall incorporate a
combination of advanced algorithms and embedded massive data sets.
Author details
Ibtehal Talal Nafea
College of Computer Science and Engineering (CCSE), Taibah University, Medina, Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
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