In a recent episode of the Cloud Design Box podcast, Cloud Design Box COO, Darren Hemming welcomes back Glaucia Rosas and James Wilkinson from The EduTec Alliance to share fascinating insights from their year-long study into AI (Artificial Intelligence) use in education.
With the rapid rise of generative AI tools, such as Chat GPT in late 2023, The EduTec Alliance saw an opportunity to move beyond the hype and understand the real impact of AI in education.
They launched an empirical study with a global network of schools, testing the effectiveness of over 250 AI tools across a wide range of use cases.
Below, we explore EduTec’s main findings.
What are the top AI use cases in education? Insights from The EduTec Alliance
While many expected AI to revolutionise learning content creation, lesson planning and materials development, the research revealed a surprising frontrunner:
“The number one use case where there’s traction is in assessment and the evaluation of student work,” explains James Wilkinson.
“But even then, there are some question marks. Large language models have biases in them.”
From extended writing tasks to scanned cursive submissions, AI is being trialled as a way to summarise and analyse student work, acting as a support mechanism rather than a final judge.
“It’s almost like you can imagine you’ve got the essay, but you’ve got a little summary attached to the front of it with some standout points from the AI that the teacher can then take in and maybe not need to spend so much time reading,” says James.
What approach will schools take to AI adoption?
Another standout finding?
Schools are starting to standardise their approach to AI adoption. Rather than using dozens of tools, many are choosing one core AI platform to support teaching and learning:
“Most schools have said, ‘We’re going to settle on one tool to be our core AI tool. We’re going to do training for the staff on that tool, training for the students on that tool, and we’ll officially support that tool.’”
Alongside tool selection, participating schools are also developing clear AI usage policies:
“Schools are creating usage policies… determining where AI can be used and in what context it can be used, both for students and teachers,” James points out.
What challenges and risks of AI do schools have to navigate? Insights from The EduTec Alliance
Despite its promise, AI in education presents major challenges.
Glaucia highlights four key concerns:
AI literacy and critical thinking
“Many teachers and school leaders are obviously overwhelmed by AI’s rapid evolution. It’s not just about learning new tools, it’s about understanding AI’s strengths and weaknesses, and teaching students how to think critically while using it.”
Cognitive offloading
“Students rely on AI without questioning or analysing its outputs… this is real and it will impact learning and their cognitive development.”
Data privacy
“You’re not really sure, if you’re putting data into it, – especially data about students, – where that’s going. If it’s an educational tool, can you have more confidence that it’s a safe place to put your work?”
Rapid evolution
“Virtually all the commercially available tools are front ends of the big Large Language Models (LLMs)*… so if anything changes on the back end, they have no capacity to do anything but accept that change,” adds Glaucia.
*Examples of commercially available tools in UK edtech could be companies such as School AI, Scribe AI or EduAid AI, while the big Large Language Models (LLMs) are foundation models built by the likes of: OpenAI (GPT); Google DeepMind (Gemini); Anthropic (Claude); Meta (LLaMA); Mistral, Cohere etc.
Looking ahead at AI in education – The AI Lighthouse Programme by The EduTec Alliance
To support schools on their AI journey, The EduTec Alliance has launched the AI Lighthouse Schools Programme, a collaborative initiative where schools test tools, share learnings and shape best practice together.
“It’s about separating hype from reality,” James exclaims.
“We sit in the hub and use our knowledge base to synthesise all the data. We meet once a month with all the participating schools and share what the experiences have been.”
With plans to expand the programme, the Alliance is inviting more schools to join and explore AI’s potential in a safe, structured way.
AI has the power to enhance education, but only with careful planning, strategic thinking, and collaboration. Schools, governors and tech providers must work together to ensure AI supports, not replaces, critical thinking.
At Cloud Design Box, we help schools and MATs put structure around the fast-moving world of digital.
From secure SharePoint hubs to compliant Teams environments, we work with leadership teams to ensure the tools you’re already using are safe, scalable and aligned with your strategy.
Get in touch to see how we can support your school or trust.
