Scientists insist the technology is designed to assist, rather than replace, human teachers.
It could help to reduce the amount of time teachers spend on grading essays and help them avoid inconsistencies caused by human errors such as lapses in attention or unconscious bias.
It could also help more students, especially those in remote areas with limited access to resources, improve their writing skills more quickly.
The machine is similar to the e-rater, an automated system used by the Education Testing Service in the US to grade prospective postgraduate students’ essays.
But unlike the e-rater, it can read both Chinese and English.
China looks to school kids to win the global AI race
Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly in China with strong support from the government and the technology is used in many areas of everyday life.
But the extensive tests of the essay grading machine – built by some of the leading language processing teams involved in the government and military’s internet surveillance programme – were carried out with unusual security measures in place.
In most of the schools taking part in the programme, parents were not informed, access to the system terminals was limited to authorised staff, test results were strictly classified, and in some classes even the pupils were unaware that their work had been read and scored by a machine.
Barbara Stefanics on 03 May 15"The Legal Implications of Surveillance Cameras District administrators need to know the law and make these policies clear. By: Amy M. Steketee District Administration, February 2012 undefined The nature of school security has changed dramatically over the last decade. Schools employ various measures, from metal detectors to identification badges to drug testing, to promote the safety and security of staff and students. One of the increasingly prevalent measures is the use of security cameras. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education reported that more than half of all public schools used security cameras during the 2007-2008 school year to monitor students, a 30 percent increase over eight years prior. While security cameras can be useful in addressing and deterring violence and other misconduct, they also raise several legal issues that can leave school administrators in a quandary. Does the use of surveillance cameras to capture images violate a student or staff member's right of privacy? If the images captured on a surveillance recording are of a student violating school rules, may district administrators use the recording in a disciplinary proceeding? If so, are parents of the accused student entitled to review the footage? What about parents of other students whose images are captured on the recording? How should schools handle inquiries from media about surveillance footage? Can administrators use surveillance cameras to monitor staff? I outline the overriding legal principles, common traps for the unwary and practical considerations. Advertisement Legal Principles Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Fourth Amendment prohibits the government, including public schools, from conducting unreasonable searches or seizures. Courts have generally held, however, that what an individual knowingly exposes in plain view to the public will not trigger Fourth Amendment protection because no search has occurred. Someone who is videotaped in public has n
