Microsoft Partners with Khan Academy to Offer Free AI Tutoring for K-12 Educators and Develops Advanced Phi-3 Math Model

Microsoft is partnering with Khan Academy to illustrate the potential of AI in transforming education. This collaboration is anchored by Khan Academy's Khanmigo AI agent, which will migrate to Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service. As a result, all U.S. K-12 educators will gain free access to Khanmigo.

Additionally, Microsoft plans to integrate its Phi-3 model, enhancing math tutoring and generating high-quality educational content. This collaboration will expand course availability within Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Teams for Education.

Khanmigo, launched in 2023, is an innovative AI tutor that provides personalized support in math, science, coding, and writing, with over 65,000 students utilizing the chatbot. Parents can use Khanmigo for homework assistance, while educators can benefit from streamlined workflows and tailored educational plans.

Previously, Khan Academy charged educators $4 monthly for Khanmigo access to cover development and operational expenses. Transitioning to Azure OpenAI Service not only grants access to advanced models like GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 but also reduces costs, enabling free access for K-12 teachers. This partnership opens new possibilities for enhancing curriculum planning for educators.

With greater access to Khanmigo, educators can utilize AI to refine lesson planning, alleviating workload pressures. As Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, observes, "Teachers are super overworked," emphasizing the potential of AI to accelerate student learning while making teaching more sustainable.

The partnership also leverages Microsoft’s Phi-3 to elevate math tutoring. Khan Academy will contribute its educational content, including math problems and solutions, to train a specialized language model focused exclusively on teaching math. Microsoft assures that no personal user data from Khan Academy will be involved in this training process.

Utilizing Phi-3 is advantageous due to its cost-effectiveness and focus on math education, preventing inaccuracies that might arise from irrelevant data. Microsoft showcases a successful application of Phi-3 that tailored AI to generate grade-specific math problems, assisting students through interactive tutorials.

Deidre Quarnstrom, Microsoft's vice president of education products, expresses enthusiasm for the partnership, highlighting its potential to enhance accessibility and user experience in AI-powered math tutoring.

Moreover, Microsoft and Khan Academy are exploring deploying this math model across various platforms, including AI PCs, mobile devices, and wearables.

Lastly, the collaboration will distribute Khan Academy's courses to more learners via Microsoft Copilot and Teams for Education, enhancing accessibility and interactivity of educational content. With new features like "Share to Teams," educators will find it easier to incorporate Khan Academy's resources into student assignments.