Can AI enhance learners’ participation, sense of community, and interaction? What should adult educators know about using AI?
Award-winning AI specialist, Innovation Lead Tove Mylläri from the Finnish national broadcasting company YLE shared some insights to these topics at a webinar “Take AI as Your Sparring Partner”. The webinar was organised by the Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation, EAEA’s partner in the ETHLAE Erasmus+ project. ETHLAE promotes the use of emerging technologies in adult education, with a focus on holistic basic skills learning.
Here are the three key takeaways from the webinar:
1. AI can strengthen learners’ participation and agency
“At its best, AI is an opportunity to level the playing field between people”, said Mylläri, referring to how socio-economic background affects access to education and employment.
“There are many technologies that increase inequality. With AI, we can narrow that gap – sometimes even faster than through traditional education models”, Mylläri noted.
“You can be a journalist or writer even if your grammar isn’t perfect. Or a musician without reading sheet music – not quite like Sibelius, but still.”
In digital environments, appearance and background matter less.
“With avatar technology, people can look like anyone, speak different languages, or appear in any location”, Mylläri illustrated.
For example, an immigrant living in Lapland who doesn’t speak perfect Finnish could gain more equal opportunities through technology.
According to Mylläri, AI can also enhance people’s sense of inclusion and agency. Key factors influencing this include: Can I change my circumstances? Am I being heard? Can I interact with the surrounding society? AI technologies can help with all of these.
2. AI can act as a coach for teachers or learners
AI has already changed teaching – for better and worse. Mylläri emphasised the opportunities AI offers to ease teachers’ workloads.
She encouraged teachers to map out their work processes and break them into phases. This helps identify where AI could assist. Some examples she gave include:
- simplified summaries of teaching content
- language versions of the material
- personalised exercises for learners
- visualised instructions
- AI assistants to support teaching and planning
Improving content accessibility with AI tools is especially helpful for diverse and multilingual learners. AI can also lower the threshold for self-expression and practising speaking.
“AI can create a safe space for practice, where there’s no shame. It’s safe to talk to a machine because it doesn’t judge you like a human might”, Mylläri said.
Creating learner-centred materials for students at different levels is one way to use language models. This ensures no one is excluded from the experience of challenging themselves and succeeding.
Teachers and learners can also use AI as a critic and sparring partner:
“A language model tells you honestly how things are. It doesn’t worry about hurting your feelings”, Mylläri explained.
3. Realistic optimism is key in using AI
Using AI requires judgement, understanding, and openness. Mylläri shared that YLE’s AI guidelines emphasise using AI for the benefit of society and with environmental awareness. AI use should serve a clear purpose, enrich the user experience, and support work. Responsibility for the outcome of AI-generated services always lies with humans.
Mylläri stressed that teachers don’t need to be technical experts. It’s enough to understand the basics of how language models work, their possibilities, and limitations. That way, one can make an informed decision about whether to use AI.
“It’s important that the decision is based on understanding. We shouldn’t give too much power to fear-based discussions. Shifting the focus from fear to understanding is more productive than dwelling on threats”, she said.
Students should also be supported in developing critical and responsible AI literacy.
Setting goals requires balancing ambition with realism. AI is just a technology and it has its limits. It can’t achieve everything we might want.
In closing, Mylläri emphasised the individual’s role in shaping the future:
“Through your own actions, you are building what the future of AI and teaching will look like.”
The ETHLAE project
The Emerging Technologies for Holistic Literacy in Adult Education (ETHLAE) project promotes the adoption of emerging technologies, such as AI, in adult education, especially for vulnerable groups. The project focuses on holistic literacy, meaning all the skills needed for meaningful participation in society. It also produces tools and learning scenarios to support teachers.
Text: Sari Pohjola