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This page was translated automatically using artificial intelligence (DeepL). The German version is binding. More information about automatic translation
Like all areas of life, the education market is also subject to constant development and reorientation. The time it takes for knowledge to become obsolete is getting shorter and shorter; skilled workers are forced to acquire knowledge constantly and at an ever-faster pace. Whilst Generation Y was enthusiastic about technological progress and e-learning tools, Generation Z now dominates the knowledge market. Their learning behaviour differs fundamentally from that of previous generations; they can handle large volumes of data and abstract complex issues, selecting some content whilst ignoring others. The aim is to absorb as much content as possible in the shortest possible time.
This is precisely where the research project comes in, for which Professor Rika Fleck from the Faculty Media Sciences has received a grant award notification from the SAB (Sächsische Aufbaubank). ‘Speed-Learning – AI-based generation of digital learning content for efficient knowledge transfer and learning support’ is the title of the project, which began on 1 August 2024 and will run for 24 months. The project partner is chemmedia AG.
The aim of the project is to drastically reduce the effort involved in creating digital teaching content through AI support, thereby facilitating the accelerated transfer of knowledge within educational institutions, as well as from universities to businesses and the general public. The main objective is to use AI to combine existing teaching content with new material, restructure it and redesign it from a didactic perspective. Similarly, the learning process for learners is to be supported by AI by giving them the freedom to choose what, when and how they learn in order to achieve the required learning objective.
Until now, universities and, in particular, smaller companies have refrained from developing virtual learning content, as this is a very labour-intensive and costly process. According to a study by the US research agency Chapman Alliance, the time required to develop one hour of e-learning content averages 184 hours(!). This equates to approximately 20,000 euros for one hour of learning content. By using AI to create, refine and update digital learning content, the effort involved can be significantly reduced, enabling digital training formats to become widespread in higher education and in the transfer of knowledge within companies.
The insights gained from online teaching in 2020 have, if nothing else, made the sustainable, location-independent added value clear. Until now, the production of digital learning content has been very labour-intensive and only made sense for large target groups and fundamental topics (scientific/technical fundamentals, compliance issues or soft skills). In this way, the costs could be justified by the repeated use of the content. With the help of AI-supported creation of digital learning content, the process is now being massively accelerated and simplified, meaning that specialised and niche topics could also be covered in future.
The overarching aim is to develop and test an AI-supported approach to enable teachers to generate modern, interactive learning resources from their existing materials with minimal effort. With AI support, the materials are automatically processed and structured, thereby significantly reducing the effort required of the teacher to create content. This allows teachers and researchers to concentrate on their specialist knowledge, explore it in depth and, with minimal effort, make it available to a wide audience (students, company staff, professional colleagues and the general public) in a form that is easy to learn and engaging.
The AI is intended to take on the following tasks, amongst others:
- suggest a content structure (with the option to edit it),
- generate new content and fill gaps in knowledge,
- distinguish between and categorise basic and in-depth knowledge (e.g. according to specified learning taxonomies such as factual knowledge, comprehension-based knowledge and applied knowledge); where appropriate, it may also suggest optional resources,
- enrich the learning process with motivational or emotional elements,
- extract individual sections from a resource (video) and make them available in the relevant sections.
Furthermore, additional learner support is conceivable, for example in the form of customisable chatbots and a knowledge assessment to automatically adapt the content.
The project is therefore directly aligned with the Free State of Saxony’s sustainability strategy, particularly in the areas of ‘Digital transformation in higher education’, ‘Education and science’ and ‘Economy, innovation and skilled labour’. As part of the project and its prototypical implementation, great importance is attached to the accessibility of digital learning content and gender neutrality.