Self-improving educational content that adapts to the student

Alex Avdiushenko

aleksandr.avdiushenko@jetbrains.com

Race for AGI

Source: The State of AI Report

GPT o1 by OpenAI: two months ago
Claude 3.5 Sonnet by Anthropic: six months ago
Gemini by Google AI: a year ago

And also LLaMa, Mistral, Grok series…

The Influence of ChatGPT in Education

Chegg Inc — an NYSE-listed company focused on selling home assignment solutions for students.

Double ~90% dip in stock price!

It turns out that now you have a brilliant AI assistant in your pocket!

it helps guide your thinking
it can search for relevant information
it even generates insights

You can focus only on the goal settings and critical thinking part.

Comparison of AI tools

Feature	GitHub Copilot	Cursor	JetBrains AI	V0 by Vercel	Replit AI
Best Use	Inline code suggestions	Project-wide context generation	IDE integration	Project-wide contributions	Cloud-based coding
Key Focus	Multilingual support	AI-enhanced editor	Code control	Adaptive learning	Collaboration tools
Environment	VS Code, Neovim	Cursor-based editor	JetBrains IDE	Vercel platform	Browser IDE

Demo: pdf-files creation in 2024

PyCharm with TeXiFy IDEA plugin — LaTeX, Python and JavaScript in one place with great autocompletion, inverse search from PDF, git etc.

AI assistant helps with translations in a broad sense: not only between languages, but also any formats, short ideas to nice descriptions, text to speech, auto tests creation, etc.

GitHub Copilot plugin offers very reasonable pieces of code, draft solutions, and generally helps speed up writing text content

Grazie plugin corrects typos and polishes long sentences

Now let me share my own workflow for teaching and lecture preparation.
FIRSTLY, I usually work in PyCharm complemented with the TeXiFy IDEA plugin. This combination brings together LaTeX, Python, and JavaScript all in one place. It allows using powerful autocompletion and inspections of PyCharm, and inverse search from pdf.
NEXT, let's discuss the AI Assistant. It is capable of assisting with translations in a broader sense. AI helper is not just restricted to translating languages; it can convert formats, elaborate short ideas into detailed descriptions, and even to oral speech, facilitate auto tests creation, and more.
THIRDLY, I'm using the GitHub Copilot plugin. It offers practical pieces of code, draft solutions, and generally helps speed up the writing of text content for my lectures and other materials.
LAST but not least, the Grazie plugin checks for typos and polishes long sentences. Its purpose is to ensure your text is clean, concise, and clear before reaching your audience.

Here I'd like to show the concrete example from my own experience. It is producing the problem for the International Mathematical Competition.
First of all, I have chosen an appropriate problem from ancient times of my teaching at Novosibirsk State University. There I organized math contests with tricky olimpiad tasks. So I need to translate the problem from Russian to English and to make a Latex format from Microsoft Word.
You see, with the help of AI assistant; I can do it in a few seconds. Here I simply copy-paste the answer to the working area. Then I check the result and look at the Grazie suggestions. Here I don't accept it, because it suggests something strange about additional dot in the text after the word "elements", but often it helps to polish the text.
Then I compile Tex sources and look at PDF file.
Then I need to write a solution, so I think through the solution and type it in Latex format. So firstly, I write x^2 = 0, then latex Rightarrow command goes. Here you can see that GitHub Copilot helps me to write the solution very quickly; it even makes simple calculation with math formulas.
Then I write the second part of the solution. Here I need to prove that the product being equal to zero is commutative. So that ab=0 if and only if ba=0. You see, sometimes I disagree with the Copilot's suggestions, but often it helps. Eventually, I check everything, recompile Tex sources and get the final PDF file done. Really fast, effective and convenient workflow, at least for me. Maybe you will consider using something similar for your own practice.

Student's cases of using AI assistance

One of the exams had the format “there is a case study, you need to describe the actions necessary to solve it.” We had only 2 samples from the lecturer: situations with expected answers. So we added the theory from the slides of all the lectures into the GPT, followed it with exam samples and asked it to generate similar tasks. Super fast preparation for this kind of exam))

The process of completing practical homework with writing code has now changed: ChatGPT writes basic, often broken, code, which I take as the basis for further execution of the task.
In the further process of execution, Yaroslav uses it as a bug fixer — it is not always easy to understand what the error is. So you can throw the code into it and ask to find and fix the error.

And of course, students master new technologies just as well as teachers or even better.
Consider two typical examples from students of our educational program in Cyprus. NADEZHDA with her friends had one exam in the format of solving practical cases. They had to prepare using only two task samples from the teacher. So they added the theory from the slides of all the lectures into the GPT, followed it with exam samples. And asked AI to generate similar task-samples based on the received theory. It was a superfast preparation for this kind of exam!
Let's look at another example from YAROSLAV. He was given some task to write some kind of convolutional neural network. Initially, when looking at such a task, it is not always clear how to approach it and where to start. In the past, Google solved this, helping with existing solutions and showing how related tasks are done.
Now ChatGPT just writes the first version of code. Usually, approximately 20% of this code remains in the final version of neural network; and sometimes it even writes completely inadequate code, which, however, helps to understand what to Google next. In the following process of execution, Yaroslav uses ChatGPT as a bug fixer.

Few observations from the Academy about studying

Incredible speeds: any new knowledge is immediately available to everybody

Yesterday we found out smth on Twitter $\to$ tomorrow added a new skill to ourselves $\to$ in a week all the students have it

Therefore, solving unsolved problems is the key skill. AI is copying anything existing with speed of light

Essential activities for education and critical thinking development are

Mathematical proofs

Debugging

System engineering

Human discussions

Let's go on to a few observations about modern education from our teachers.

They NOTED the incredible speed of learning today. Essentially, as soon as new knowledge emerges, it becomes almost immediately available to everyone. This speed makes a significant impact.
For instance, IMAGINE we discover something on Twitter today. By tomorrow, we've already added a new skill to our repertoire. In just a week, all of our students have acquired this skill.
That's why the CRUCIAL skill nowadays becomes the ability to solve unsolved problems.
ALSO our teachers highlighted certain essential activities for the development of critical thinking.
Those activities include crafting mathematical PROOFS and checking them,
DEBUGGING problems in code or systems,
tasks related to system ENGINEERING, including robotics,
and, importantly, you have to engage in HUMAN discussions and debates.
Each activity, in its own way, sharpens our ability to evaluate information critically and make reasoned judgments.

Vision for the Future

Every student learns at their own pace and content evolves alongside them
Educators are empowered with real-time insights
Learning becomes an ever-improving ecosystem, constantly adapting to the challenges of tomorrow

This next step will not just revolutionize education but democratize it, making high-quality, personalized learning accessible to everyone.

Parts of the future system

AI-Assisted Content Creation
- Use AI to generate, refine, and improve educational content continuously
- ChatGPT-style assistants that provide explanations or generate new examples for hard-to-understand topics
Multimodal Learning
- Combine text, video, interactive simulations, and virtual/augmented reality for a rich, adaptable experience
- Example: A physics concept could be taught via text, a video demo, or an interactive AR experiment, depending on the student's learning style
Gamification and Engagement
- Include features like badges, levels, or challenges that evolve as students progress
- Example: A student earns a badge for mastering a topic, unlocking new challenges tailored to their level

Now let’s talk about how technology plays a key role in creating self-improving educational content. First, we have AI-powered tools that continuously generate, refine, and improve educational content. These tools can act like ChatGPT-style assistants, capable of providing clear explanations or generating new examples to simplify complex or challenging topics for students. This ensures that the content stays fresh, adaptive, and accessible for every learner. Next, multimodal learning focuses on delivering education through various channels like text, videos, interactive simulations, or even virtual and augmented reality. For instance, imagine teaching a physics concept — some students might prefer reading about it, others might benefit from a video demonstration, and for some, an interactive AR experiment could make the concept click. The idea is to adapt to different learning styles for maximum impact. Lastly, we bring in gamification. Features like levels, and challenges will keep students engaged and motivated. For example, when a student masters a topic, they might earn a badge, which then unlocks new, more advanced challenges tailored to their progress. It turns learning into a rewarding and fun experience. These three elements—AI-driven content, multimodal learning, and gamification — are the building blocks for creating an adaptive, engaging, and future-ready educational system.

Instead of a conclusion

Reliable information sources and AI tools have evolved, but the need for education and critical thinking remains constant or even more important

Incredible speeds give us incredible opportunities

JetBrains has an amazing IDEs for everyone and AI, and this is cool!

We strive to pioneer in integrating AI in education tools also, shaping a smarter, more efficient learning environment

Come and join us — it's fun and gives great development

🎉🥳🎉 Text me anything! 🎉🥳🎉

Now, as we reach the final of the presentation, I'd like to leave you with some takeaways.
FIRSTLY, the panorama of reliable information sources has evolved over the centuries. Yet one constant remains — the need for strong education and critical thinking. In today's fast-paced world, this need is not just constant but has become more crucial than ever.
SECONDLY, the incredible speed at which information is now accessible presents us with new opportunities. It allows for rapid learning, immediate access to knowledge, and the ability to connect globally. However, it also demands from us a strong sense of discernment and responsibility.
As a COMPANY, addressing these changes means adapting and innovating. We already have 'JetBrains AI assistant', integrated across all the products, improving our workflows and decision-making processes.
FINALLY, we don't just adapt but lead. We have the opportunity to be pioneers in deep integration of AI into software development and education tools, both online and offline. By doing this, we can shape a smarter, more efficient working and learning environment.
So, I invite you to JOIN us in studying and in development new learning environment; it's really fun and exciting.
Your thoughts, FEEDBACK, and ideas are invaluable. I encourage you to connect with me on Telegram or GitHub. Let's collaborate and shape the future of education together. Thank you very much for you attention.