In a groundbreaking move to modernize education, Kerala has announced the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its school textbooks. This initiative will see AI learning modules incorporated within the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum for Class 7 students, impacting over 4 lakh students across the state in the upcoming academic year, according to a statement from the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE).
KITE CEO Anvar Sadath highlighted that one of the activities in the 'Computer Vision' chapter will involve students creating their own AI program capable of recognizing human facial expressions. "This program will identify up to seven different emotions on a person's face. It's the first time in India that all students in a class are getting an opportunity to learn AI uniformly," he said.
The curriculum framework emphasizes developing critical thinking, analytical skills, and problem-solving abilities essential for holistic development. Special emphasis has been placed on fostering logical thinking and programming skills in primary-level ICT textbooks.
To facilitate this, the 'PictoBlox' package, along with 'Scratch' software that teaches visual programming, will be introduced. These tools will enable students to practice programming, AI, robotics, and more. KITE, the technology arm of the Department of General Education, will ensure all necessary software is available on laptops deployed in schools.
The new ICT textbooks for Classes 1 and 3 will include Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) based educational applications such as GCompris, eduActiv8, OmniTux, and TuxPaint. These applications cover a range of skills including drawing, reading, language learning, numeracy, operations, and rhythm. Additionally, applications developed by KITE, like Traffic Signal, which teaches children about traffic rules, and Waste Challenge, which educates on waste disposal through a gaming mode, will also be included. Language labs are featured in the new textbooks as well.
This initiative by Kerala marks a significant step towards equipping students with the skills required for the future, ensuring they are well-versed in cutting-edge technologies and prepared for the evolving digital landscape.
