{"id":8174,"date":"2024-09-02T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/?p=8174"},"modified":"2024-09-03T10:37:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T15:37:59","slug":"interns-mission-is-to-make-learning-accessible-to-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/es\/blog\/interns-mission-is-to-make-learning-accessible-to-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Intern\u2019s Mission Is to Make Learning Accessible to Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tessa Wolf entered her second semester in college as a computer science major whose undiagnosed developmental disability was affecting her ability to focus on complex class material.<\/p>\n

She soon felt left behind.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Wolf decided to shift her studies to a major she believes better accommodates her disability, later diagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) \u2014 and to discover a fascination with instructional design. But she never forgot the confusion and overwhelm she endured or her belief that, with the right assistance, others with ADHD could avoid the same challenges.<\/p>\n

Wolf hopes her internship with Every Learner Everywhere\u00ae<\/a> will help uncover ways AI can make a difference in situations like those she faced early in her college career. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign senior is part of the summer and fall 2024 cohort of interns, who are researching the use of artificial intelligence in higher education.<\/p>\n

AI for adaptive instruction<\/h2>\n

The Chicago-area native describes her first year of college as a time in which she worried her background as a student at a small high school with relatively few resources would put her behind her classmates. Wolf\u2019s difficulty maintaining attention as she struggled with class material compounded the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf AI were more widely used while I was a computer science major, it would have been a lot easier for me,\u201d Wolf says. \u201cAI is beneficial not only for being able to look up information and get explanations, but it\u2019s also really helpful for organizational skills. I think it can be very helpful as a supplementary resource.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without this type of assistance, Wolf struggled to adapt to instruction that she says wasn\u2019t a good match for her learning style.<\/p>\n

Social, technical aspects of AI<\/h2>\n

Wolf found a better fit when she changed her major at Illinois to learning and education studies, with a concentration in digital environments for learning, teaching, and agency. She is minoring in informatics and disability studies.<\/p>\n