Survey: Half of teachers already have experience with artificial intelligence

More than half of teachers in Germany (51%) have already had experience with artificial intelligence (AI) in a school context. This is the result of a survey conducted by the IT industry association Bitkom. According to the survey of 502 teachers at secondary levels I and II, AI applications such as ChatGPT, SchulKI or FieteAI have been used in lessons, and 28% plan to do so in the future. A further 28 percent have not yet used such tools, but intend to do so. 11 percent do not want to use AI at all, while 7 percent use it privately.

Of the teachers who have already used AI in the classroom, 81% used AI to impart knowledge, particularly to explain AI (59%). A further 30 percent used AI to create examination tasks and 29 percent used AI as a tool for checking tasks.

Differing opinions on the use of AI

Despite the interest in AI in schools, there are also concerns. 39 percent of respondents believe that AI has no place in schools. Nevertheless, even among these respondents, 79% agree that all pupils should acquire AI skills.

According to the survey, digitalization has improved significantly overall as a result of the Digital Pact for Schools, which expires this year. 92% of respondents therefore consider follow-up funding to be important and 93% are convinced that a Digital Pact 2.0, which is often called for, should also include funding for licenses, learning materials and further training. According to the survey, almost half are still using overhead projectors.

Between June and August of this year, Bitkom Research conducted a telephone survey of 502 secondary level 1 and 2 teachers at lower secondary schools, schools with multiple courses of education, secondary modern schools, grammar schools, integrated comprehensive schools and Waldorf schools. According to Bitkom, the survey is representative.

AI is coming, computer science as a school subject is rare

When the EU AI regulation comes into force in August 2024, both pupils and teachers will be supported in acquiring and passing on the necessary digital skills and competencies. According to the AI Act, this also includes media literacy and critical thinking. AI should therefore be carefully monitored to ensure equal educational opportunities and that no one is discriminated against.

At the beginning of July 2024, for example, the task force "Artificial Intelligence in Education" submitted recommendations to the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia (PDF) for the responsible use of AI in schools, universities and further education. There are still some gaps in knowledge in schools when it comes to the use of AI. This is also due to the fact that there are only a few federal states that already offer computer science as a compulsory subject for all school types and for several lessons per week.

According to Liane Haak, Professor of Business Informatics at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, young people do use voice and writing assistants, but there is a lack of understanding of the underlying technologies and possible risks. She and her team want to close this gap by trying to promote the safe use of AI in schools – an initial project is starting at a secondary school in Lingen , according to a press release. The aim is to address not only how algorithms work, but also the AI Act.

(mack)