Best Use of Artificial Intelligence in Ed Tech recognizes the best artificial intelligence, machine or deep learning solution, platform or product that improves learning outcomes and implements solutions that help students succeed.
Riff EDU – Riff Analytics
During in-person classroom discussions, participants rely on human signals — tone, gesture, sentiment — to interpret what’s happening, build trust, and create a sense of belonging. In online instruction, learners and instructors often struggle to develop authentic connections. Riff is an AI-based, collaboration platform that enables learner success by fostering meaningful connections in virtual environments. Through text and video chat, Riff measures interaction in a learning community and gives feedback about patterns of communication directly to participants. During video chat sessions, the platform subtly encourages users to speak more — or less — through the “Meeting Mediator” which helps maintain conversational balance, allowing participants to self-regulate over time. These feedback loops build self- and situational awareness, which leads to stronger social ties and ultimately better learning outcomes. In NSF-backed research, it was shown that students who participated in 4 or more Riff calls over the course of a program earned 80% higher final grades and were twice as likely to earn a credential.
Riff’s novel approach draws on 10+ years of research from the Human Dynamics group at MIT Media Lab. Over the last three years, the Riff team has focused on improving individual and small group performance by helping learners become more conscious of how they interact. Riff optimizes collaboration and engagement by providing detailed personalized feedback to individuals and aggregate views of small group interactions to the faculty, TAs, and coaches who support them. Riff connects learning communities to help make them more successful together.
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