Major tech companies, including Microsoft, have been actively incorporating AI technology into various domains, one of which is education. In India, Microsoft is leveraging AI advancements to strengthen teachers’ capabilities and empower students for more effective learning experiences.
Microsoft Research has harnessed generative AI to assist teachers in swiftly crafting personalized learning activities, generating assignments, and organizing hands-on tasks through a project named Shiksha Copilot.
The core objective of the Shiksha Copilot project is to elevate learning outcomes and equip teachers to devise comprehensive, age-appropriate educational plans by aggregating available digital resources, encompassing textbooks, videos, classroom activities, and student evaluation tools.
In collaboration with the Sikshana Foundation, a local NGO dedicated to enhancing public education, Microsoft researchers are testing this program in numerous public schools around Bengaluru, India, to establish and enhance the underlying tools. Microsoft shared insights about the project, featuring interviews with three educators who have implemented Shiksha Copilot in their classrooms.
Shiksha Copilot offers a variety of features to enhance the learning experience. It is founded on specific curricula and educational goals to ensure that the generated content aligns with desired educational targets.
According to Akshay Nambi, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, the system’s grounding is established by extracting pertinent data through cutting-edge optical character recognition (OCR), computer vision (CV), and generative AI models. The system is designed to support voice-based interactions and natural language, offering options for English and Kannada speakers.
Shiksha Copilot is engineered to connect with both public and private educational resources. It is accessible through various modes, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and web applications.
