Teachers and school leaders from across England are set to
participate in an artificial intelligence (AI) hackathon as part
a two-day event to experiment with technology and identify how AI
could supercharge education.
Artificial intelligence is already having an impact on society,
helping to grow the economy and deliver better public services.
In education, the technology has huge potential ranging from
supporting teachers with administrative tasks to providing
personalised feedback for students on their work.
In a bid to unlock these benefits, the Department for Education,
in collaboration with Faculty AI, the National Institute of
Teaching, and the AI in Schools Initiative, is set to host an AI
hackathon in London on 30 and 31 of October which will bring
together teachers and leaders from schools and trusts across
England, including Harris Federation, Star Academies, Outwood
Grange Academies Trust and Inspiration Trust.
Participants will be asked to experiment with AI to test its
potential in several scenarios, for example whether it could
write a lesson plan or accurately mark exam papers.
Secondary school pupils will also be invited to share their
experiences and knowledge. The best of the solutions will be
shared with the department’s workload reduction taskforce and a
demo of the tools created will be made available for schools
across the country to test and to use, supporting the
government’s ambition to reduce working hours for teachers and
leaders by five hours per week.
Education Secretary, , said:
During my career in the tech business, I have seen innovation in
action.
Artificial intelligence has huge potential to transform the way
we do things, from providing personalised support for pupils to
helping tackle teacher workload.
But to reap the benefits in education, we need to improve our
understanding of how AI works and safely. Participants of the
hackathons will be supported by Faculty AI and the National
Institute of Teaching to experiment and put forward solutions,
paving the way for the future.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said:
This hackathon will help explore how AI can be harnessed to
revolutionise education.
We want to see teachers using AI to speed up administrative tasks
and planning so that they are free to focus on the things which
make the biggest difference to students.
We are also equipping the next generation with the AI skills they
need for the future, with our AI conversion courses helping
students gain technical knowledge in this transformative
technology so they can compete and thrive in the workplace.
Tom Nixon, Director of Government at Faculty AI, said:
Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our
generation - and now is the time to safely bring its vast
benefits to schools.
From creating timetables and lesson resources, to supporting
students with personalised feedback, AI has the power to cut
workloads and improve young people’s education.
The hackathon will be an important step in moving from rhetoric
to reality, and we’re excited to help get these tools into
classrooms.
Dr Calum Davey, Executive Director of Research at the National
Institute of Teaching said:
We want to see a school system that nurtures the teachers and
school leaders who are making a difference for children every
day. Emerging AI technology may help with their work, but if it’s
going to be useful and have an impact then schools need to led
identification of problems and development of solutions.
We are proud to work with Faculty to connect the experts in AI
technology with the experts in the classroom. Our researchers
will be listening to those involved and sharing what we learn.
The UK is already a world leader in AI, spearheading the safe and
responsible development of the technology. Ahead of the UK AI
Safety Summit on 1 and 2 November, this work will mark an
important step in ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of AI
globally.
As part of its work in this space, the Department for Education
launched a call for evidence in
June to gather views from educational professionals on risks,
ethical considerations, and possibilities of AI in education. The
results of the call for evidence will be published in November
2023 and alongside the results from this month’s hackathons, will
support the government’s work to identify AI’s potential and
ensure it advances in a safe, reasonable, and fair way.
