Kerala: 80,000 secondary school teachers to get AI training

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], April 22 : The Kerala government will conduct a three-day artificial intelligence (AI) training for the 80,000 state secondary school teachers from May 2.
Under this program, Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) aims to train 80,000 teachers of classes 8-12 by August 2024.
"A 3-day AI hands-on training for Secondary school teachers in Kerala will commence from May 2 onwards. The training conducted by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) aims to empower 80,000 teachers of Classes 8 to 12 with the necessary AI expertise by August 2024," according to a press release.
The AI training focuses on summarization techniques to simplify complex documents in PDFs, images, and videos and to generate concise summaries that retain crucial information and even create new content using AI tools. Teachers will learn image generation techniques to create and edit subject-specific visuals, transform them into cartoons or paintings, and integrate text with the images, said the press release.
"This is followed by Prompt Engineering and Machine Learning which helps in formulating precise prompts essential for effective utilization of AI tools and also to understand its programming mechanisms respectively by actually doing it," the release stated.
Through data visualization, teachers will explore how AI can be harnessed to create presentations and animations, alongside generating and customizing tables, graphs, and charts that cater to specific requirements. Next comes assessment wherein teachers would be equipped with AI techniques for evaluation purposes, enabling them to design various question formats, including unit tests, etc.
"The program will provide a chance to identify potential risks associated with AI while fostering a culture of responsible AI usage. In the training, teachers will also create their avatars to understand the concept of deepfakes while gaining insights into privacy concerns and algorithm bias," said K Anvar Sadath, Chief Executive Officer of KITE.
Each batch will have 25 teachers, who will use their laptops and mobile phones. The G-Suite accounts created for teachers by KITE will be used to ensure data privacy while using AI tools, and they don't have to use their private email IDs and other credentials.
The training will leverage a dynamic selection of tools recommended by KITE's expert committee. The training would help the teachers to personalize learning activities for each student and also customize resources to be inclusive for students with disabilities.
The press release further stated, "180 Master Trainers of KITE have already completed one-month-long AI training for this. Modules are also ready for different sessions. Higher Secondary and High School IT Co-ordinators and Little KITEs Masters will be trained initially. Registration facility is open for teachers at www.kite.kerala.gov.in."