E-learning in the Generative Artificial Intelligence Era: Exploring the Middle Eastern context

In recent years, the world has witnessed a revolution in artificial intelligence (AI), the effects of which have appeared in most areas of life. There is almost no field that does not employ AI applications—sociology, medicine, engineering, manufacturing, investment, space sciences, applied sciences, and communication are just a few examples.  One of the developments of AI is generative AI (GenAI) models.

GenAI encompasses a subset of AI systems crafted to produce fresh content, spanning images, text, audio, or video, reminiscent of, though not directly copied from, existing data [1]. These systems employ algorithms, often rooted in deep learning methodologies, such as neural networks, to scrutinize and decipher patterns within extensive datasets. Following training on this data, GenAI models can generate innovative content by extrapolating from the learned patterns [1–3]. Thus, AI offers potential solutions to numerous obstacles encountered in online distance education and can enhance teaching and learning procedures [4]. With the abundance of big data, AI's capacity to create its own models, and the increasing acceptance of learning analytics methods, it has become imperative to deliberate on the effective integration of AI in education overall, especially in online distance education [5]. Inspired by the advancements in AI, this article aims to explore research on its applications within online distance education.

GenAI can enhance online learning platforms since it can adjust to each student's current level of understanding, pace of learning, and specific educational objectives to maximize their learning outcomes. Additionally, GenAI can leverage students' past learning experiences to pinpoint areas of weakness and recommend courses tailored to enhance their personalized learning journey [6, 7]. GenAI has revolutionized education because of its benefits and ability to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching and learning online, as it can better understand information and enhance students’ awareness if used properly [2]. This development requires we make the best use of and keep up with AI, and think about how to employ it to support students by moving away from traditional teaching methods that limit the student to only obtaining information during an online class to advance methods that help students and enable them to access and understand information with flexibility in time and place. 

The use of GenAI in the Middle East is still limited. Studies have investigated the effects of AI tools on Palestinian students, the difficulties encountered by EFL students in English-medium programs online [8], and the usefulness of digital storytelling in primary school settings [9, 10].

However, AI is increasingly being adopted by countries in the Middle East region, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. These countries have made substantial investments in the development and application of AI technologies and have initiated various policies to support the growth of AI. For instance, Saudi Arabia has launched initiatives to promote AI use in education. The UAE has also invested heavily in AI research and development, implementing policies to foster the growth of the AI sector [11]. On the other hand, many developing countries like Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen are still in the early stages of formulating and implementing AI national strategies, as the technology is relatively new and can be costly to deploy. These countries often face challenges such as limited access to technology and funding, and a shortage of skilled workers with expertise in AI. Consequently, AI adoption is expected to progress more slowly in developing countries than in more developed nations.

Despite recent research being conducted globally, further study is required on the use of GenAI in the Middle East. It is hoped that students will be able to access a broad range of more engaging and interactive content. They will also be able to learn at their own pace with teachers acting as facilitators rather than direct content providers in an online learning environment.

This article explores the use of GenAI to  support e-learning for faculty and college students in the Middle East region, focusing on five possible outcomes.

1. Improving teaching practices. AI offers both time-saving and cost-effective solutions. AI tools provide ease, quick response, and essential data for analyzing the success of e-teaching strategies . Thus, these tools have a significant role to play in online education. Elhajji has suggested AI techniques could be markedly helpful in learning-teaching in Saudi Arabia by encouraging creativity and supplementary proposals in higher education institutions [11].
2. Increased student engagement. GenAI’s conversational capabilities enhance the interactive nature of some learning concepts, enabling students to ask questions, seek explanations, and engage in discussions. This active involvement fosters a deeper connection with the subject matter boosting motivation and retention of concepts [12].
3. Promoting personalized learning. GenAI models can tailor learning experiences to suit the individual needs of students. Through tailoring responses to individual prompts, ChatGPT provides customized explanations, examples, and assistance adapted to each student’s specific needs and learning pace. This personalized method improves understanding and enables a more profound grasp of concepts. Almohammadi, Hagras, Alghazzawi, and Aldabbagh have observed that e-learning and AI techniques helped them take into account the individual differences of learners [13].
4. Flexibility. Another benefit to teachers is flexibility and better control of e-learning, which is not limited to teachers alone; students also share that experience [14, 15]. Many times, schedules can be adjusted, and recorded lectures can be made available to revise the content in online education.
5. Efficient research and data analysis. By identifying the most promising avenues for research, GenAI helps researchers free up their time for more complex endeavors [16]. Farhi et al. investigated faculty members from the UAE to explore the usage of GenAI in research; they concluded that ChatGPT has the potential to increase researchers’ workload and enhance various aspects of research, from planning to execution and presentation [17]. In addition to its ability to analyze massive datasets at lightning speed, it delivers results much faster than humanly possible. This translates to a significantly more efficient research workflow.

Challenges

GenAI possesses vast potential for numerous applications in e-learning in the Middle East and globally. Nevertheless, there are challenges with the adoption and implementation of GenAI tools. Many of these challenges stem from the absence of human-centered artificial intelligence (HCAI). For GenAI to thrive, it must prioritize human-centric approaches, considering factors like empathy and human needs, transparency and explainability, ethical and cultural considerations, data privacy, digital divide, and over-reliance, as well as fostering transformation through AI literacy and intelligent argumentation. For example, a study conducted by Alfanan et al. in Kuwait reported that if students misuse ChatGPT, it could result in decreased human intelligence and learning regression [18]. They also clarified that Generative  AI  poses a difficulty for educators because distinguishing between students who rely on thoroughness and those overly dependent on automation becomes challenging, making it harder to effectively assess learning outcomes. Moreover, generative AI tools frequently produce solutions requiring clear explanations or reasoning, posing challenges for users to grasp the underlying principles. This limitation may impede effective learning and diminish its potential as an educational resource. Additionally, teachers and students should exercise caution as the outputs of generative AI may occasionally be misleading or contain fabricated information [19].

Another challenge is the current status of privacy and protection laws [20]. For example,  this is in its infancy in places like Palestine. An exploratory study by Demaidi reported on the status of privacy and digital data protection in Palestine and revealed that, unfortunately, there are no laws and legislation in Palestine as of yet [21].

Lastly, the digital divide resulting from inadequate digital infrastructure and low-speed internet poses significant barriers to AI adoption in the Middle East, and more specifically, Palestine, due to the political conflict in the region. Consequently, brain drain and lack of skilled and highly educated people [22, 23] influence AI adoption in the region.

Suggestions and Implications

These findings underscore the necessity for ongoing research and development efforts to refine AI tools like ChatGPT and amplify their potential as effective educational aids in e-learning in the Middle East region.

Moreover, these results show that while GenAI offers valuable opportunities, it also poses challenges for students and instructors in the Middle East region.  For example, students might be tempted to use ChatGPT to complete their assignments, which could hinder their learning and academic growth [18]. For instructors, the concern lies in grading work that may be generated by AI. To address these issues, it is recommended that instructors modify their take-home assignments and grading rubrics. This could involve providing detailed guidelines and incorporating elements that require students to add specific information and details based on a scenario to create a complete response [19]. As generative AI tools like ChatGPT are still relatively new, further research is needed to better understand their impact on both students and instructors.

GenAI requires either broadening the scope of existing educational roles or adopting new ones, such as learning facilitators, curators of learning resources, designers of learning experiences, and assessors of learning [24]. While online learning is often associated with spatial and temporal distances, generative AI should also be viewed through the lens of transactional distance. Although generative AI has the potential to reduce transactional distance, educators still play a vital role in bridging this gap by providing personalized support and guidance throughout the learning process, not only in pedagogical aspects but also in terms of pedagogy of care and human-centered learning design [25]. 

Developers of generative AI could benefit from a thorough examination of epistemic studies on transformers and knowledge, which could aid in the development of more sophisticated generative AI tools that encounter fewer conceptual comprehension difficulties.

Conclusion

Incorporating generative AI into e-learning holds great potential for enhancing learning and teaching processes in Palestine and across the Middle East. The use of GenAI in the region is still in its infancy, and public opinions are extremely polarized over the effectiveness of these new applications.  Technology is and will always be part of our lives. As progressive researchers, we cannot help but embrace this new innovative tool and adapt it to our day-to-day practice while keeping in mind the ethical concerns of our mission as educators.

References

About the Author

Reham Salhab is a Ph.D. candidate at An Najah National university (NNU). Currently she is a lecturer in the Educational Technology department at Khadoorie University in (PTUK). She has published several articles on students’ attitudes toward Moodle, Zoom, and mobile learning at PTUK. Moreover, she has published an article on the effect of interactive smart boards on pre-service teachers in a microteaching environment and designing a code of ethics for online learning. Her main area of interest is e-learning, mobile learning, gamification, educational technology, teaching and learning, professional development, and curriculum development.