Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals were looking for ways to have a flexible education. Time is not a luxury, especially for adult students, so the ability to create a personalized path for higher education is becoming increasingly important. It’s projected that by 2025, the online education industry will reach $350 billion. As this industry grows, innovations driven by artificial intelligence (AI),are helping virtual university students succeed in their education.
Recently Google Cloud’s Lukman Ramsey, Solutions Manager, moderated a conversation between Joe Schaefer, Chief Transformation Officer at Strategic Education, parent company of Strayer University and Capella University, and Chai Ling, President, Founder & CEO at Jenzabar, about the role that AI plays in supporting virtual learning. Read on to learn how AI is powering the education sector.
Strayer University is using AI to aid students during virtual learning. Strayer Univeristy built Irving, their virtual assistant, on Google Cloud. Irving “handles complex student requests. It is not an FAQ bot; it’s deeply integrated with our IT systems. It’s designed and developed by a team of technologists, student support personnel, and behavioral psychologists to answer complex conversations in multi-step conversations,” said Schaefer.
Strayer University’s busy students wear many hats, so Irving supplies a solution by saving time and stress. The chat bot is available 24/7 and is able to answer both frequently asked questions and complex requests. The University’s innovative use of AI allows for Irving to grow and get smarter over time.
To date, Irving has had over 1,000,000 conversations, connected with 100,000 unique users, and handles 90 percent of student questions. The bot is an extremely effective way of using AI to better the virtual learning community. Students are able to receive answers to their questions in a quick, mobile system. Looking forward, similar to Irving, Ella is being built to support Capella University.
With Google Cloud’s AI capabilities, these companies were able to build smart platforms that allow for student success in the online environment. The COVID-19 pandemic called attention to the benefits of virtual education, and, with the help of AI, this method of learning is going to become even more prominent.
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