Voice AI in Education

Conversational AI and voice interaction have excited many people about what AI could mean for education. The uses and implications are wide-ranging, yet good case studies and examples remain hard to find, while most AI interaction still takes place on screens through command-style prompts. 

This is the first in what we hope will become a regular series. We want to bring together experts and practitioners to look at where voice AI is being used now, which solutions are being developed, and what this means for hardware in edtech, including screenless AI interaction. 

Why now 

Government has published its first screen use guidance for under-fives, and guidance for ages 5 to 16 is due this autumn. Voice offers a different medium that builds skills such as oracy, but where does it sit in those recommendations? The DfE’s generative AI product safety standards also ask products not to anthropomorphise and to guard against emotional dependence, so what does that mean for voice in practice? 

Beyond the classroom, voice can help students, including those with SEN, express themselves more confidently, and it has clear potential in modern foreign languages. In the back office it can reduce workload through voice capture and automated call triage, from parents phoning schools to student recruitment and clearing in FE and HE. 

Who should attend 

Edtech and voice AI suppliers, school, college and university leaders, teachers and professional services staff, researchers, and policy colleagues with an interest in AI in education. 

What we hope to cover 

• Where voice AI is used in UK education now, and where it is not. 

• Voice in teaching and learning, including SEN, oracy and modern foreign languages. 

• Back-office and workload uses, from voice capture to automated call triage in schools, FE and HE. 

• What screen use guidance and the DfE’s product safety standards mean for voice products. 

• Where voice and screenless AI interaction may take edtech hardware. 

Agenda 

• 16:00  Arrival, coffee and networking 

• 16:30  Opener and welcome 

• 16:40  Introduction to voice AI: commonly accessible platforms and what you can build and deploy 

• 17:00  Panel 1: Teaching, learning and SEN 

• 17:45  Panel 2: Back office and workload 

• 18:30  Networking until 19:00 

Get involved 

We want this to be a series shaped by the community. If you would like to speak at a future event, or have an idea for one, please get in touch with Austin Earl. Contact details are below.