Research
Technology-Education-Art (TEA) (E-learning with AI)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly integral to education, serving as a facilitator of learning. TEA is educational learning technology or model that integrates a Learning Management System (LMS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver rich learning experience to learner.
The TEA Learning Management System (LMS) is a web application that allows the educators to easily populate their learning materials with illustrations and drawings (which may be AI generated) and allowing learners to login and learn at their own pace using its engaging, flexible and personalized learning features.
TEA is a model and application use in teaching that was derived from an interdisciplinary doctoral study of Dr. Benjamin Onuorah titled “Development of AI-flavoured Technology-Education-Art app and exploration of its impact and CTCA on students’ performance In visual art and biological drawings”. The TEA model focus on the use of Technology, Education and Art
- Technology: online learning management system and artificial intelligence
- Education: educational learning theory of Okebukola's eco-techno cultural theory
- Art: visuals such as drawings, illustrations and cartoon
to support learning of difficult or abstract concepts or topics:
How does TEA work
Step 1. Have a clear knowledge of the topic you want to teacher e.g Cell Division (Mitosis and Meiosis)
Step 2. Break the concepts in the topic into smaller unit and create a
prompt (short phrases or text describing each concepts in the topic)
Step 3. If possible, ensure that the prompt has a flavour the context (environment) where teaching and learning takes place as well as the cultural feel that the students can relate with
Step 4. Enter the prompt to an image generative AI model such as
Google Gemini or
Canva’s AI (Note: you can also source for good images or illustration from other sources)
Step 5. Download the generated images and
Step 6. Proceed to the TEA learning management system (
tealearn.org), register as an educator, create the topic and upload the generated images when creating the lesson (under the topic) to visually explain the concept.
Step 7. Share the link of the topic to your students to visit the website (
TEA learning management system) and learn
Okebukola's eco-techno cultural theory
After two decades of research to gather supporting evidence, Okebukola (1990), proposed the ecocultural theory of science learning. The theory which is a STEM slant of the general theory of ecoculture holds that the context (ecology) where teaching and learning of science takes place as well as the microcultures of students and teachers, exert noteworthy effects on learning. The pathways of the effect are two bridges. The first bridge is the link between experiences derived from the learning context and the subject matter to be learned. This bridge can be seen, for example, in relating practices of electroplating that students can observe in their immediate school environment, perhaps in a nearby blacksmith workshop and the topic of electroplating in a chemistry class. The second bridge has longer span, tucked deep in the cultural orientation of learners. This cultural bridge links indigenous knowledge and cultural practices that are related to a STEM concept. The effect of the two bridges is likened to a catalyst accelerating the formation of neural networks which are evidentiary that learning has taken place.
The two bridges of context (ecology) and culture work in a similar manner to the neurotransmitter- acetylcholine in the transmission of nervous impulse from one neuron to another, a process that is implicated in the mechanism of learning. Acetylcholine acts at various sites within the central nervous system where it can function as a neurotransmitter and as a neuromodulator. It plays a role in motivation, arousal, attention, learning, and memory. In a series of additional experiments within the framework of the ecocultural theory, two elements- technology and humour were inserted into the intervention equation. The aggregated findings of these studies led Okebukola (2015a) to derive the eco-techno cultural theory.
This theory sees learning as product of the effect of activation energies from four sources. Like its precursor, the ecocultural theory, where two bridges link context and culture to concept formation, the eco-techno cultural theory, extends the bridging to four activation energies which ensure that the links by the bridges are speedily established and are longer lasting. Activation energies lower the rate of reactions which bring about learning of a (STEM) concept. They foster the formation of neural networks which are indicative that learning has occurred. Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices are ecocultural determinants which immerse the learner in a world where belief systems and cultural practices are drivers of learning. Human beings as social animals, have their behaviours changed as a consequence of interacting with significant others in a cultural setting.
A Prompt
A prompt is natural language text describing the task that an AI should perform: a prompt for a text-to-text language model can be a query such as "what is Fermat's little theorem?", a command such as "write a poem about leaves falling", or a longer statement including context, instructions, and conversation history.