A Brief Review of AI Survey Results
Authors: Samantha Goldman; info@ciddl.org
The landscape of AI in education is constantly changing. It is hard to believe that ChatGPT and the generative AI explosion that followed started only two years ago. In this short time, many states have drafted their own policies on AI, the U.S. Department of Education released its report on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning, and countless new AI tools explicitly designed to support teachers and the variability of learners have been released. And, while it is easy to get lost in the allure of AI, the real question isn’t what AI can do, but rather, what is the current state of AI in education? To answer this question, we will highlight several recent surveys on AI and education in this blog post.
Attitudes towards Education and AI
One survey aimed to determine the attitudes of parents and teachers toward the role of AI in education. It included opinions from 500 parents of school-aged children diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and 200 K-12 teachers, 168 of which have experience teaching children with IDD. Findings from the survey included that AI has the potential to close educational gaps and promote classrooms for all learners. Parents and educators agree that AI has the potential to create more adaptive and personalized learning opportunities for students with IDD and can be leveraged to support extracurricular activities and sports. Additionally, they agree that AI skills are essential for young children with IDD to learn. Two-thirds of parents and one-third of educators believe that AI developers include the needs and priorities of individuals with IDD in their products. Concerns regarding how AI will impact human interaction and the equity of resources across schools and communities were raised. Read the whole report by visiting the Special Olympics’ website.
AI Chatbots in Schools Findings from a Poll of K-12 Teachers, Students, Parents, and College Undergraduates: Walton Family Foundation
The purpose of this survey was to poll K-12 teachers (n = 1003), K-12 parents (n = 1000), students ages 12-18 (n = 1001), and undergraduates (n = 1003) regarding their attitudes towards AI Chatbots in Schools. Findings from the survey showed that more teachers, parents, and students are aware of and use AI than in the previous year’s survey. Overall, participants reported feeling generally positive about AI. Most surveyed believe their schools are doing very little with AI, such as developing policies, offering trainings, and discussing how AI will impact their students’ future careers. Finally, because so many schools lack formal policies, many are exploring AI independently. Read the complete findings from the Walton Family on their website.
AI in Higher Education Understanding the Present and Shaping the Future: Ellucian
This survey aimed to explore how AI is being used in academia, including the challenges and opportunities associated with it. Participants included 445 higher education administrators. This report’s insights included the fact that the adoption of AI in higher education has grown beyond expectation. The main reasons for adoption are to increase efficiency and productivity, and there are growing concerns over AI in higher education, including data privacy, cost, and bandwidth. Read the complete report on Ellucian’s website.
The State of AI in Education Artificial Intelligence in Education 2024 Report: Carnegie Learning
This survey aimed to determine how teachers and administrators view AI. Participants included 799 educators, including administrators (24%), teachers (72%), and support staff (4%). Findings from this report include that more than half of those teachers surveyed use AI for work, with administrators using it even more frequently. AI tools are mainly used for brainstorming and idea generation (52%), creating teaching materials (46%), and lesson planning (30%), with only 10% of teachers reportedly using it for grading. Favorite AI tools included ChatGPT, Magic School, Canva, Google Translate, and Google Bard (now known as Gemini). Yet, 61% of educators ban student use of AI, and 81% are concerned about student cheating. The report concludes that teachers are more skeptical of AI use, whereas administrators are more enthusiastic. Concerns over AI use include data privacy and ethical dilemmas. Moreover, with intentional implementation, AI has the potential to positively influence education through increased efficacy, engagement, and equity. Read the full report from Carnegie Learning.
Share your Thoughts!
These are just a few surveys that have surfaced regarding AI usage in education. What other surveys have piqued your interest? Has your institution surveyed faculty, students, staff, and other constituents regarding their usage and thoughts on AI? Share with us in our community! CIDDL is committed to providing high-quality resources to support the increasing knowledge, adoption, and use of a range of educational technologies that can be used for educators, related services, or leadership preparation programs. For more resources, including videos and blogs, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The most important part of our CIDDL community is YOU. Join our community and share the innovative ways you are using technology, ask a question about technology integration, or participate in our bi-weekly live AI Community Chats.