ARMONK, N.Y., Sept.
28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachers will have access to a
new, first-of-its-kind, free tool using IBM's (NYSE: IBM)
innovative Watson cognitive technology that has been trained by
teachers and designed to strengthen teachers' instruction and
improve student achievement, the IBM Foundation and the American
Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced today.
Hundreds of elementary school teachers across the United States are piloting Teacher Advisor
with Watson – an innovative tool by the IBM Foundation that
provides teachers with a complete, personalized online resource.
Teacher Advisor enables teachers to deepen their knowledge of key
math concepts, access high-quality vetted math lessons and
acclaimed teaching strategies and gives teachers the unique ability
to tailor those lessons to meet their individual classroom
needs.
Using IBM Watson's cognitive computing technology, teachers who
are math experts have taught Watson the ability to advise and support
classroom educators who teach third-grade math –a linchpin academic
subject. In this first phase, Teacher Advisor offers hundreds of
high-quality vetted lesson plans, instructional resources, and
teaching techniques, which are customized to meet the needs of
individual teachers and the particular needs of their students.
To view a brief video describing the tool, please go
here.
Teachers can type in a particular topic or question and get
personalized, non-judgmental assistance and recommendations from
Watson while planning a lesson,
understanding a concept in-depth and targeting successful teaching
strategies to help improve student learning. Watson may even ask the teacher additional
questions to refine its response, honing in on what the teacher
needs to address certain challenges. Educators can also access
high-quality videos on teaching techniques to master key skills and
bring a lesson or teaching strategy to life into their
classroom.
Watson's innovative technology
can understand the meaning behind teachers' queries through its
cognitive computing capabilities (Watson's Dialog and Natural Language
Classifier APIs). Watson's
expertise will increase over time through training and interaction
with teachers.
"Nothing is more critical to a student's academic success than
an effective, skilled teacher. Yet, too often, teachers are left on
their own to meet the demands of teaching with precious little
help," said Stanley S. Litow, President of the IBM
Foundation and IBM Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and
Corporate Affairs. "Teaming up with education leaders, we're
excited to put Watson in the hands
of teachers. Developed by teachers for teachers, this
first-of-a-kind innovation enables educators to deepen their
knowledge, customize high-quality lessons combined with effective
teaching strategies while guided by Watson's cognitive coaching –whenever and
wherever they need it, totally free. Our hope is to one day equip
all teachers with the support they need to do what they do best
–unlock a child's passion for learning and build up the next
generation of leaders."
"This builds on our work to provide educators with relevant,
quality, authentic resources created by teachers themselves and
other curricula experts. It fills a void that the education
industry has left —a dearth of quality resources and assistance on
which teachers can rely, rather than doing everything themselves.
And it's great that the IBM Foundation is giving Watson, developed for medical diagnoses and
other purposes, to teachers for free. That's really cool," AFT
President Randi Weingarten said.
Litow said there are plans to make Teacher Advisor available to
all elementary school teachers across the U.S. before the end of
the year. It begins with assisting teachers in their ability to
teach math and was developed in close collaboration with the AFT, a
broad national advisory group of renowned educators, education
non-profits, and providers of high quality teaching content who
worked closely with IBM's technology experts.
Weingarten said Teacher Advisor builds on its ongoing work to
provide educators in the field with user-friendly professional
development tools. AFT's Share My Lesson is a free digital platform
that nearly one million educators use to share and download
hundreds of thousands of lesson plans and other materials.
Faced with limited time, higher standards, diverse student
needs, and the responsibility to teach all subjects, elementary
school teachers have expressed a critical need for easy-to-access,
well-designed resources and ongoing personalized support. For many
teachers, identifying the right materials matched to their
students' needs, especially those with diverse learning abilities,
is challenging. Even with the best resources, many teachers
struggle to target effective teaching strategies to help their
students improve their proficiency, and lack access to dedicated
coaching.
"Teacher Advisor provides teachers with customized expert advice
that empowers them to deliver high-quality instruction that meets
the needs of their students," said Michael Cohen,
President of Achieve, Inc. "Watson's ability to learn and to learn how to
learn is important in its own right, but it means that this
exciting innovation will develop and become smarter over
time."
This philanthropic tool aims to fully support teachers'
development, offering high-quality, vetted teaching material from
education non-profits UnboundEd, Student Achievement Partners, and
Illustrative Mathematics. The pilot version, currently in beta
form, will be improved with continual teacher feedback, building
content, adding curriculum, and other grade-levels over
time.
The IBM International Foundation is closely collaborating with
teacher associations and an advisory board of renowned education
leaders, including federal officials, state school chiefs, and
deans of schools of education and school board leaders, who share a
vision to make Teacher Advisor accessible and available for all
teachers, for free. In addition to the IBM Foundation, funding
partners include the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the The Ford
Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Contact(s) information
Angie Hu
IBM Media Relations
1 (914) 499-6532
ahu@us.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM