📄 Context

Learning something new is so much fun - and yet so hard!

Everyone has different questions, different gaps in understanding - so how do we solve it? So-called scaffolding is an interesting way to learn something new: Through personalized support and suggestions, learners are supported to make targeted learning progress.

In my work, I looked at this very approach and challenged the thought: Can we use modern (AI) technology to scale this scaffolding learning experience to make personalized education accessible to everyone? How far along is the technology really and what does it take to get good results? This three-part story gives a tangible sense:

❌ Problem Definition:

For an initial project approach, I focused on a lived problem of my own:

What is American Football? 🏈

Growing up in Europe, I have hardly any contact with this sport and understand football as a ball sport that is mainly played with the foot (😉). Having arrived in America, however, there seems to be no socializing way around it, so: How does the sport work and how can I learn the complex set of rules and the seemingly endless game processes quickly and without lots (or any) effort?

Traditional methods of learning, like attending long lessons (in worst case by your enthusiastic Football friends) or reading extensive books, would be too time-consuming and may not cater to individual learning needs. This lead me to the fundamental problem of my work:

There's a gap in providing digital real-time, personalized, and context-aware learning solutions that can help individuals grasp complex subjects or cultural nuances without significant time investment.

The rules and processes of American Football can be challenging, especially for those who have never watched a game before. Many people may feel overwhelmed by the technical jargon and complex nuances of a new sport, which can make it difficult to follow along during a live game. This is where this AI assistant comes in.

🎯 Solution Proposal:

The objective is to build an AI assistant that can guide users through a football game with concise, relevant, and personalized explanations. The assistant must take a constructivist approach that considers each user's unique experiences and prior knowledge while building on what they already know to make football concepts accessible and engaging.

Therefore I developed an AI-powered chatbot, named the "AI Football Expert 🏈 🤖", designed to provide real-time explanations and insights into American Football for those unfamiliar with the sport. This chatbot will:

Offer immediate and simple answers to user queries about the ongoing game - mainly reducing the cognitive load by providing easy to grasp explanations.
Utilize the principles of scaffolding and constructivism to tailor its responses based on the user's prior knowledge and fields of interest.
Begin its interaction by inquiring about the user's preferences, ensuring a personalized learning experience and promoting an engaging & authentic learning environment.

Important context note: This ed-tech approach has many applications. I chose football as a topic because it is a current concern for many of my (international) fellow students, including me. Many of us find it difficult to understand the basic principles in context and to even follow the play of the game without a lot of learning time investment. But just imagine: If it is possible to learn individually and successfully even during a live event - then the same methodology can be implemented in other subject areas: Live support in a chemistry class - individual answers in a math lecture or personalized real-time training in a new job while you are already working. Therefore I add to the functions of this AI:

Serve as a scalable model for other subjects and scenarios by building the learning experience around the zone of proximal development and the digital social nature of learning.

Thereby this solution not only aids in understanding American Football but also showcases the potential of AI in revolutionizing personalized education and real-time learning across various domains.

Modern technology will redefine the way we consume and interact with knowledge.

Live interaction with the AI Chat Bot

✅ Impact

Improved learning experience for users new to American football
An increase in user engagement during a first live game test (Participants spent time focusing on the game and had an accessible tool at their hands to get appropriate, real-time responses)
Based on feedback of test users: Reduction in confusion (or frustration) while watching the game

"This might be the first time I actually knew what's going on"

- Quote of a test user, who continued: "I absolutely see the potential of this technology. Especially with the further goals and objectives you have in mind with this technology, I believe this will be a game changer for learning experiences. This is so easy and handy to use, I would probably not even attempt to learn Football otherwise, but I loved giving this a shot and probably secretly use it again in another game I will be invited to."

👪 Team

To further improve this project and develop a truly unique chat bot experience, it needs a few team member roles I am currently looking for:

Team Member #1 - AI Developer
- Overseeing the development and implementation of the AI assistant using ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0
- Designing the pedagogical behavior and constraints for the AI assistant to ensure a personalized learning experience for each user
Team Member #2 - UX Designer
- Designing the user interface for Football Coach AI to be intuitive and easy to use during live games
- Incorporating user feedback into the design process to improve the overall user experience
Team Member #3 - Researcher/ Learning Desginer
- Creating and proposing the overall learning experience and pedagogical approaches within the application
- Ensures the effectiveness and balance between "short term support" and "long term learning"

AI-Driven Contextual Learning: From Football to Life [Deliverable 1/3]