The federal government has been encouraged by Afrelib Academy, a provider of educational solutions, to make provisions in the national school curriculum for Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is an emerging technology. At a press conference in Abuja, Joyce Gomina, the head of operations/programme, revealed that these initiatives would help teachers save time while also making lessons more engaging and enjoyable for students. According to Gomina, the initiatives are working to promote education throughout West Africa, beginning with Nigeria, by spreading an appreciation of literature and technology.
Speaking further, she explained that each and every child has a distinct voice, and the academy hears it as a team of knowledgeable educators committed to assisting students, their parents, teachers, and the place of learning in achieving the highest possible educational achievements. She stated that in order to provide improved educational results on a larger scale, they curate cutting-edge educational technology (EdTech) platforms as well as excellent teaching practices from all over the globe.
Many schools lack the necessary resources for an adequate education.
During the course of their engagement with schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) region of Nigeria, they saw an independent school that had more than one broken classroom window and teachers who lacked access to smart devices, making it difficult for them to access educational resources that were on websites or apps. In this school, the head teacher pays for every necessary supplies out of his own pocket when families cannot afford them. Despite this, they were among the most dedicated and enthusiastic teachers they’ve ever met.
However, she stated that schools that function under these conditions do what they can with what they possess, naturally only a few resources. Both the resources for academics and the teachers themselves are in short supply. The tools that are used for monitoring and tracking the progress of children are paper-based and of poor quality. The process of acquiring the necessary skills in order to maintain future relevance in the labour market already presents a number of challenges.
PAGS AI-powered tool provided more insight into the initiative.
Afrelib Academy collaborated with PAGS Profile, an AI-powered assessment platform and progress tracking tool, as the lockdown lifted in October 2021 and covid discrepancies created even bigger gaps in the children’s learning. The academy team uses this tool while consulting with schools to understand students’ learning styles better, locate areas of weakness in abilities and expertise, and equip teachers with effective methods for bridging such gaps. She asserted that children requiring special education services are often overlooked and doomed to fail because of this.
She explained that technology and the application of Artificial Intelligence means that teachers no longer need to spend two hours gathering the resources they’ll need to teach a certain topic. A teacher using ChatGPT, for instance, may write an entire lesson plan in under 10 minutes. After the initial creation of the lesson plan, any necessary adjustments can be made in a matter of minutes. Therefore, if the government permits the use of technology and Artificial Intelligence, classrooms will be more efficient, and students will have more fun learning.
Children’s educational development drives the organization.
Lastly, at Afrelib Academy, they take the initiative to track the direction of the future and equip their teachers and students with the knowledge and abilities they’ll need to succeed in the years to come. Gomina went on to say that the primary distinction lies in the fact that at the academy, they would never put the prospects of their children’s future in jeopardy by avoiding the challenging discussions that are essential to tackling tomorrow’s challenges head-on today.
Related Link
Afrelib Academy: Website
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