As we are all aware, technology is fast taking over many aspects of our lives. We recently covered an article on technology transforming education, but today we’ll investigate whether it can replace teaching staff.
Robots are expected to take over many industries and teaching could be one. Even the World Economic Forum has stated that by 2027, robots could replace teachers and that this will certainly disrupt the global economy. Academic heads also have the same prediction.
The benefits
However, organisations such as the UN also wish to meet global academic targets and robot teachers could fill in this gap and provide students in poorer parts of the world a good education as there is an academic shortage.
Another benefit is that automated teachers won’t need to be paid, so this extra saved money can be used for investment purposes in other parts of the school/university system. They also wouldn’t need time off work for holidays/sick leave.
However, there are also cons to this. Human interaction is something that a machine cannot provide, a machine cannot tell if a student is struggling or having a bad day.
Also, tech-wise, experts predict this amount of innovation won’t be available for another decade yet.
Collaborative role
Machines could ultimately play a collaborative role in the classroom, so instead of totally taking over teaching, they could instead use their advanced systems to monitor attendance or help with grading school papers, so teachers are given an extra hand.
If you enjoyed this post, keep your eyes peeled for more interesting stories on the TSoM blog.
