In the past, teachers wrote exam questions using typewriters and lecturers prepared teaching materials from stacks of photocopied papers. Now, the landscape has shifted significantly. Artificial intelligence technology has entered Indonesian classrooms, not as a replacement for educators, but as a tool that can save hours of routine work. However, its adoption is not yet widespread.
Data from a 2023 survey by Kemendikbudristek shows that more than 60% of teachers in Indonesia feel overwhelmed by administrative burdens, ranging from creating lesson plans (RPP), compiling questions, to grading assignments. On the other hand, the adoption of AI technology among educators lags far behind that in the business sector. Many are curious but do not know where to start.
Workload of Educators Often Overlooked
A high school teacher in Surabaya once shared that he spends three to four hours just preparing a set of daily exam questions. Not because he is slow, but because he has to adjust the difficulty level, question format, and guidelines all at once. This is not an exception. This is a routine experienced by hundreds of thousands of educators across Indonesia every week.
At the higher education level, the problem is slightly different. Lecturers must balance teaching schedules, student guidance, research, and publication. Teaching modules, which ideally should be updated every semester, often stagnate due to a lack of time for in-depth material revision. AI could actually fill this gap, but it requires the courage to try.
AI Is More Than Just a Chatbot
A common misconception is that many educators think AI for education means ChatGPT answering students' questions. In fact, its spectrum is much broader. There are tools that can help create syllabi based on learning outcomes, generate variations of questions from the same topic, analyze students' answer patterns to identify common misconceptions, and even automatically produce visual presentation materials.
What is interesting about this AI-based approach is personalization. In theory, a set of learning content can be tailored to different ability levels for students without having to rewrite from scratch. This is highly relevant for heterogeneous classes, which are most commonly found in public schools in Indonesia.
Real Barriers on the Ground
Of course, not all stories are smooth. One of the most concrete barriers is infrastructure. Many schools in 3T regions (frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped areas) still struggle with unstable internet connections, let alone accessing cloud-based AI tools. Additionally, there is the issue of digital literacy that still needs to be addressed, especially for the generation of educators who are accustomed to traditional methods.
There are also concerns about accuracy. AI can produce content that appears convincing but is factually incorrect, especially for subjects that require high precision such as science or mathematics. Educators still need to verify and edit. Therefore, the key is not to replace the thinking process but to accelerate the parts that can be automated while maintaining control over quality.
Where to Start?
For educators who want to start, the most practical approach is to try one concrete use case first. For example: use AI to create a draft of multiple-choice questions from a summary of the material, then edit it yourself before use. Or use it to create a presentation outline. Two to three hours of experimentation is usually enough to feel the gap between expectations and reality, while also discovering the most useful points.
What is most needed is not lengthy technical instructions, but context: how AI can fit into the real workflow of an Indonesian teacher or lecturer. Because the challenge is not about the tools, but about understanding when and how to use them appropriately.
References:
- Kemendikbudristek – Report on the Workload of Indonesian Teachers 2023 → kemdikbud.go.id
- UNESCO – AI in Education: Guidance for Policy-Makers → unesco.org
- OECD – Teachers and AI: Preparing for Digital Transformation → oecd.org