(NewsNation) — As kids cram for final exams, a new artificial intelligence tool from Google aims to provide students with customizable learning experiences to help them retain information.
Until now, the textbook has been a staple part of the classroom, forcing a limited, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. But with Google’s new “Learn Your Way” technology, textbook material is uploaded and analyzed by AI before the student personalizes their learning experience.
A project leader at Google told NewsNation they looked at teaching studies to decide how to offer as many learning options as possible for students.
“What dual coding theory says is that when you present material in different ways, it actually completes a more robust and complete mental model of these concepts, and therefore reinforces learning,” Dr. Courtney Heldreth, a Google research manager, said.
Once a topic is uploaded on the site, material is output at the grade level the student chooses, while incorporating their hobbies and interests into the subject matter, before the student decides how it’s all displayed. Some of the display options include immersive text, slides, audio narration and mind maps to connect core concepts.
NewsNation spoke exclusively with two of the students who were among the first to test Google’s new AI tool about their experience.
“I’m not someone who can read a whole article because I just get bored, I go on my phone, I do everything else besides actually reading,” Sydney Buchelt, a student, said. “So giving me these different ways to learn something is super helpful.”
“Sometimes when you’re reading text, it just blends together. So having that quick summary just to catch you up if you lost your track, is definitely very helpful,” Neil Kubik, a student, said.
Both Buchelt and Kubik said the tool enabled them to retain more information.
“Honestly, I have a very bad memory, so in general, my memory’s just not great, but I do think I was very surprised that I could remember a lot of what I learned,” Buchelt said.
Google tested 60 high schoolers after they used “Learn Your Way” and found that students performed 8% better than the control group that only read from the textbook. A week later, Google tested the students again on the same material and found that those who used “Learn Your Way” performed 11% higher than the control group.
“What we’re seeing is that students who use ‘Learn Your Way’ have this opportunity to perform a full letter grade higher when they use the tool,” Heldreth said.
“I cannot wait to use this tool and implement it into my learning,” Buchelt said.
A demo version of “Learn Your Way” is already available to use. For those who want access to the full version, students and teachers can be added to a waitlist to upload their own course material into the system.