Who is leading AI adoption?

Key points:

Eighty-two percent of college students say they have used ai technologies, compared with 58 percent of high school students, and students are now nearly on par with teachers in adoption (67 percent vs. 66 percent), according to the learning platform’s second annual State of ai in Education report. Quizlet.

The report explores the implementation, perception, and impact of ai from the perspective of US students and educators.

Key findings include:

• Students who use ai technology for school use it to conduct research (46 percent), to summarize or synthesize information (38 percent), and to generate guides or study materials (31 percent).
• Students who study three or more hours per night during the school year are more likely than their counterparts to say that ai technologies have had a positive impact on their efficiency (62 percent), learning support (60 percent), and creativity and critical thinking (53 percent).
• Students are more likely than teachers to say ai creates a more equitable education system (41 percent of students vs. 33 percent of teachers)
• 48% of high school students say they are unsure if they will use ai technologies to help prepare for college applications or standardized tests like the SAT and ACT; only 7 percent of students have already done so.

Higher education is leading the ai ​​charge

This academic year was the first full year that students, faculty, and administrators had access to generative ai solutions, and it’s clear that some students adopted this technology faster than others. More than four in five higher education students (82 percent) have used ai technologies, compared to just 58 percent of high school students. More college students also report that their institutions have established a code of conduct regarding ai use, compared to high school students (41 percent vs. 18 percent).

“College students are embracing ai at an accelerated pace, proving that this technology is not a trend, but rather a profound shift in the way they learn and engage with the curriculum,” said Meghann Lomas, senior director of product at Quizlet. “Students want to use ai responsibly, and guidance from educators and administrators, along with the edtech companies developing these solutions, can help them.”

The survey results also indicate that high school teachers are more likely to receive questions from their students about ai that requires permission (67 percent vs. 52 percent). In contrast, college professors are much more likely to receive questions about appropriate use cases (59 percent vs. 40 percent). This data indicates that many students are aware of how and when they use ai, which may contrast with some initial concerns that students would use this technology without questioning it.

ai adoption in higher education translates into outcomes, with more higher education students reporting that ai technologies have had a greater positive impact on efficiency (63 percent vs. 53 percent), learning support (59 percent vs. 52 percent), and access to personalized study or learning materials (52 percent vs. 49 percent) compared to secondary students.

When it comes to the positive impact of ai on students, educators see different results: High school teachers report that the number one impact of ai on their students’ overall learning experience is that students are more confident (58 percent), while higher education teachers report that the number one impact is that students learn new concepts faster (49 percent).

Despite increased adoption in higher education, when asked how ai is transforming education, more than half of secondary and higher education teachers (52 percent) feel positive or neutral about the technology’s impact on learning.

ai enthusiasm gives way to more moderate expectations

The State of ai in Education report shows that educators are more moderate in their optimism about ai's potential to impact education this year compared to ai-in-education-survey-reveals-teachers-are-surprise-ai-champions-301884427.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>last year.

“The introduction of generative ai into education has raised a range of hopes and fears in the education space,” Lomas said. “The data shows that while ai has been shown to help improve student effectiveness and develop personalized learning resources, it has not yet driven the changes that many people were worried about, such as replacing the vital role our educators play in students’ lives.”

When it comes to the future of education for teachers, 38% say ai will have a positive impact, up from 51% in 2023. While teachers say ai has made their students more confident (51%) and helped them learn concepts faster (49%), confidence in the impact on learning losses caused by the pandemic has dimmed. 36% of teachers say ai will help somewhat or greatly in addressing learning loss caused by the pandemic, up from 48% in 2023.

Furthermore, only 28 percent of high school and college teachers said that ai technologies had had a positive impact on their students’ overall learning experience, while 46 percent of students said the same. This figure remains virtually unchanged from the previous year; in 2023, 47 percent of students said that ai technologies had had a positive impact on their learning experience.

“Both students and teachers say ai has not yet brought about a radical change in education,” Lomas said. “But more gradual changes are actually a good sign. It means that key stakeholders in education – teachers and students – have a better understanding of how to implement ai practically, which builds on the foundations of education.”

This unbiased perspective could be attributed to the real challenges of leveraging and applying ai in education. While the 2022-2023 academic year focused on many potential applications and possible iterations of ai, the 2023-2024 academic year provided educators and students with the opportunity to interact with this technology more deeply and understand its limitations and constraints.

Gaps in ai guidance and regulation remain

Only seven states have published guidance on how to address ai in education. Ambiguous or non-existent guidance on using ai in the classroom is a top concern for educators, who cited lack of oversight as one of the top three concerns (49%) regarding ai in education.

In 2024, 69 percent of respondents say their school has not yet established a code of conduct or advisory for ai technology, down slightly from the 72 percent of respondents who said the same in 2023. When asked who they would trust to create guidelines for the fair and safe use of ai in education, students and teachers said schools and school districts (65 percent), state and/or federal governments (34 percent), and tech companies (31 percent) are the three most trusted groups.

“A credible framework for ai use is necessary to ensure we are applying it responsibly and thoughtfully,” said Maureen Lamb, dean of Academic technology and Innovative Pedagogy at the Ethel Walker School. “Clear guidelines help educators and students create a dynamic learning environment that leverages the strengths of ai to support learning outcomes.”

Many educators are taking it upon themselves to discuss the appropriate use of ai with their students. Nearly half (49%) of students say their teachers have talked to them about using ai in school, up significantly from 37% in 2023. Additionally, nearly half (49%) of respondents who believe ai impacts equity in education point to teacher adoption of these technologies as a driver of equity.

“Educators play an important role in introducing students to the world of ai, but it takes a collective effort to ensure that students have equitable access to these technologies,” said Lomas. “Support from school systems and districts, as well as public and private sector organizations, is critical to both supporting educators and successfully integrating ai into education.”

This press release ai-in-education-survey-reveals-higher-education-is-leading-ai-adoption-302195348.html”>Originally appeared online.

The eSchool Media staff covers educational technology in all its aspects, from legislation and litigation to best practices, lessons learned, and new products. First published in March 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information needed to help K-20 decision makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and universities and achieve their educational goals.

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