{"id":307,"date":"2024-04-14T08:41:51","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/?p=307"},"modified":"2024-05-26T06:52:02","modified_gmt":"2024-05-26T06:52:02","slug":"the-smartest-tutor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/2024\/04\/14\/the-smartest-tutor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Smartest Tutor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n

Students in a Bar-Ilan study space.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n
Faculty of Humanities
Learning & Teaching Division<\/h5> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

The Smartest Tutor<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
A lecturer-trained tutor for every course. Personalized learning assistance that meets each student\u2019s needs. How a Bar-Ilan historian\u2019s assistive-technology tool heralds the future of pedagogy\u2014and the pride of place granted to teaching in Bar-Ilan\u2019s research faculties. <\/h6>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n

Meet Your New Copilot<\/h3>
\n

Some people might find it ironic that Bar-Ilan\u2019s new assistive-learning technology was created not by a computer scientist, but by a scholar of the Middle Ages. But Prof. Yaniv Fox, historian and new vice dean for teaching in the Faculty of Humanities, thinks it makes perfect sense. \u201cHistory is full of great stories that help us imagine a different world than the one we live in,\u201d says Fox. \u201cIt\u2019s only natural, then, that a historian imagine a different way of learning and teaching every subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019s interest in assistive-learning technology began several years ago, when he realized that his students weren\u2019t fully absorbing the material in his course \u201cIntroduction to the Middle Ages.\u201d What he needed, he thought, was a tutor who knew the material as well as he did, and who could work with each student to close his or her gaps in knowledge.<\/p>\n

So he built one.
Using the large-language-model (LLM) technology made famous by ChatGPT, Fox developed a digital \u201ctutor,\u201d similar to Microsoft\u2019s Copilot software, that draws from a course-specific database. By inputting only those texts, media, and lectures related to a course syllabus, Fox ensured that students\u2019 prompts would return reliable and relevant content, vetted by the professors themselves. And now, thanks to the assistance of his partners in the Learning and Teaching Division\u2014most notably Dr. Lihi Telem, leader of learning processes and the Digital Development Department \u2014the digital tutor can also adapt its answers to individual knowledge levels, bringing Bar-Ilan one step closer to what Yuval Shraibman, chief learning officer and deputy director of the division, calls the \u201choly grail of education\u201d: personalization.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n

\u201cA student can enter the prompt, \u2018Ask me questions until you\u2019re sure I understand the material,\u2019 and the tutor will adjust its questions to the student\u2019s learning style and level of understanding,\u201d says Shraibman. \u201cIn this way, we\u2019re able to not only ensure students\u2019 proficiency in the course itself, but also in harnessing the potential of new technologies. Perhaps more than anything else, this will set individuals apart in tomorrow\u2019s workplace and economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And from proficiency in content and learning strategies comes the ability, believes Fox, to do anything. \u201cOur digital tutor ensures that Bar-Ilan students have the foundation on which to create new knowledge, make new discoveries, and innovate in every field. Even history.\u201d<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

Prof. Yaniv Fox (top), lecturer and vice dean of teaching in the Department of General History and Yuval Shraibman, chief learning officer.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n \n
\n
\n \"Prof. \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n \"Yuval \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n

Coming Soon to a Course Near You<\/h3>
\n

In the first stage of the digital-tutor pilot, five courses\u2019 material was used to test the bot\u2019s ability to provide relevant information based on researchers\u2019 input. In its next stage, the six-month pilot will recruit 15 new researchers\u2014each with 30 students\u2014with the goal of improving the bot further in advance of its launch throughout the University. The courses included:<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n \n
\n
\n