Lagos Government, Association Train Teachers In AI

Lagos State Ministry of Educationin collaboration with Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria and US Consulate, has trained 50 public senior secondary school teachers in educational district six of the state on how to harness the opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning.

At the two-day training, the general secretary of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria, Mr Iyke Chukwu, said the workshop is to improve the participants’ skills in using technology to improve learning conditions.

“What we are trying to do is to empower these teachers with skills related to the use of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Innovative teaching and learning, so that they can go back to their school and improve the quality of teaching and learning in their respective schools. Educational landscape is changing, technology is virtually taking over every aspect of human endeavours, so why not bring tech into education as well, if it is helping other sectors?

“For teachers to be at par with what is happening globally, they need this capacity building so that they can be exposed to the potential of what technology can help them achieve in their respective classrooms,” he said

Chukwu maintained that the workshop is a train-the-trainer initiative, and it will have a multiplier effect because participants are expected to cascade the knowledge gathered and share it with other colleagues.

The General Secretary, who is optimistic that the training will scale up the students’ learning outcomes and further raise the standard of education in Lagos state, said that it is a one-off program that will have a long-lasting impact.

One of the trainers, Mr Olalekan Adeeko, said the training was designed to expose the teachers in Lagos to how they can leverage Artificial Intelligence tools in the classrooms.

He said, “There are lots of things that they do in the classroom, like note-taking and marking, and they are expected to teach individual students the best way they live to be taught, and it is a difficult task to do alone. With AI, educators can leverage these tools to enrich their lesson plans, create instructional materials, and differentiate between students based on their capabilities.”

Omotayo Olamilekan, a participant and Chemistry teacher at Matori Senior Grammar School, described the training as timely, innovative, and impactful.

According to him, “Use the Internet of Things, implement multimedia in our teaching and learning, because we need to prepare ourselves for the students of tomorrow. Teaching has gone beyond the way it used to be, and if we are not prepared, we will be left behind. The current generation of students knows more than the teachers, and we must be on our feet.”