By Vivian Okejeme
As part of extra curricular measures to position the Whiteplains British School as a leader in educational innovation in the country, the high-brow school has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Teacher, the first of its kind in Africa.
The AI Teacher, a virtual character code named “Mr Okeke” runs on trillions of parameters of global knowledge base, making it smarter than all secondary school teachers in the world put together.
Speaking at the launch of the WBS AI Teacher at the school, Proprietor of Whiteplains British School, Dr Francis Nwufoh, noted that the innovation was a product of “a very rigorous but engaging atmosphere”.
Basically, the AI Teacher according to Dr Nwufoh, is brought to: enhance
personalized learning, daily learning support, improved academic performance, encourage independent learning, support teachers, bridge learning gaps, promotes digital literacy, increase student engagement, improves school reputation, and prepare students for the future.
Dr Nwufoh stated that innovative solutions like the AI Teacher in secondary schools is a strategic investment in the future of education, as it enhances learning outcomes, empowers teachers, and equips students with 21st-century skills.
The WBS proprietor said the launch of “Mr Okeke” an AI Teacher, is aimed at complementing the efforts of teachers by making teaching and learning more effective and engaging, and not replacing them.
“You know nowadays that children do not like to bend down and study. So, we brought this innovation to make them study more, read and write.
“It is part of our learning policy here to make sure that these students you are seeing are groomed in line with international best standards.
“With this AI technology, one can even be a medical doctor, professor or anything in this world that one wants to be, because the quantum of data stored in the AI teacher is too much. It has different brain levels.
“We started this innovation because Whiteplains British School has been a top-notch school in Africa, and we want to keep that pace.
That is why we have taken a step further to bring in top-notch technology, “Mr Okeke”, an AI animated teacher, the first in this country and whole of Africa. You have seen the excitement in the students” Dr Nwufoh stated.
The school’s ICT trainer and developer, Mr Onos Edokpolor, added that the AI Teacher gives students an engaging learning experience that keeps them curious and exicited.
“He teaches both international and Nigerian curriclum.
We have now programmed learning into entertainment because if the students see a fictional character which is like a movie, that they can interact with and can now lecture them, it will be something that will be very exciting.
“The responses we are getting from students are encouraging because they are not under pressure to learn; they are relaxed and talking to a fictional character, “Mr Okeke”, who is there at any given time to listen to their questions and answer accordingly.
“You can get 200mb of data, that’s less than N200, and it’s enough to get you 5 sessions of training from the AI tutor, he said.
Dr Nwufoh also disclosed that the
students have built a security app called Dude Stay Safe (DSS) “to help save the day amidst the security situation across the country”.
“We have developed other things like the security app, which the students invented.
“Even if any child or student is having problem anywhere, by just shaking your phone, it will alert some contacts registered on the phone.
“The children you are seeing here are well secured, even if they are on their own or kidnapped.
All they need to do is shake the phone and it will send signals to all police formations in the country and also the school management, the WBS proprietor hinted.
WBS ICT trainer, Mr Edokpolor explained that the security application features advanced tracking tools, as well as live audio and video feeds that activate automatically through intense vibration sensors — triggered when the phone is dropped, crashes, or experiences excessive shaking, simulating a crime scene. END.
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