AskProf Pushes Learning-Focused AI For Students, Prof. Badiru Says Free Platforms Can Widen Access To Personalized Learning, Support Teachers

As artificial intelligence gains wider acceptance among students, Professor Adedeji Badiru has advocated the use of technology to deepen learning rather than merely provide instant answers.

Badiru, who has more than four decades of professorial experience and is the creator of AskProf, an AI-powered educational platform, said the initiative was designed to help students understand concepts, retain knowledge and develop independent thinking.

According to him, AskProf differs from general-purpose AI chatbots because it was built specifically around the learning needs of students and teachers.

“AskProf is specifically designed and structured to encourage, inspire, and motivate students to learn, acquire knowledge, and retain information rather than just providing answers to students,” he said.

He explained that the platform supports examination-focused learning, including the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council examinations.

It also caters to international examinations, including the SAT and Advanced Placement examinations.

Badiru said students could convert study sessions into quizzes, flashcards, and summary notes while tracking topics covered and identifying areas where they repeatedly encounter difficulties.

“A study session doesn’t end as a conversation,” he said. “You can turn what you just worked through into flashcards or a quiz and test yourself on it.”

He noted that the platform was developed partly in response to concerns that the growing use of generative AI could encourage students to prioritise obtaining quick answers over understanding the reasoning behind them.

According to him, AskProf also provides tools for teachers, allowing them to create classroom codes, admit students into classes, and identify subjects or topics where learners are experiencing difficulties.

He said such information could help teachers determine areas requiring additional attention.

Badiru disclosed that the idea behind AskProf predates the recent surge in generative AI, saying he registered the AskProf.com domain more than 20 years ago.

He said the original plan was to create a service through which students could send academic questions to him by email and receive responses.
The initiative, however, could not be sustained because of the potential volume of questions requiring personal responses.

Badiru said advances in generative AI subsequently provided an opportunity to revive the idea on a much larger scale.

According to him, the emergence of ChatGPT accelerated the project, while the involvement of AI programmer Damilola Adelaja helped advance the development of the platform.

https://askprof.com

Badiru said AskProf was an extension of his longstanding interest in educational technology.

In 1995, he developed “Badiru’s Equation of Student Success,” which he later expanded into a 2013 guidebook focusing on intelligence, common sense, and self-discipline.

He had earlier developed desktop computer-based project scheduling software in 1982, which was subsequently shared with students, educators, and researchers.

*‘Free access important’*
Badiru said AskProf was currently available free of charge because widening access to learning was central to the philosophy behind the project.

“My learning philosophy is that we all learn better when we are all on the same page,” he said.
“The only way we could all be on the same page is if we all have equal access, which is only possible if the access is free.”

He argued that AI-powered educational support could have a significant impact in Africa, where large class sizes often limit the amount of individual attention teachers can give students.

Badiru, however, said the platform was neither intended to replace teachers nor presented as a solution to structural challenges in the education sector, including overcrowded classrooms.

Rather, he said it could provide personalised academic support to students who might not have access to private tutoring.

“The core problem in much of African education isn’t talent or ambition. It’s ratio,” he said.

According to him, a student studying alone with a mobile phone and limited internet data could use the platform to obtain further explanations of concepts that were not fully understood in the classroom.

He added that the system was designed to function on modest mobile devices and with limited data, making it potentially accessible to students in communities where high-end devices and broadband internet services are unavailable.

Although Nigerian curricula have been incorporated into the platform, Badiru said AskProf was designed as a global educational tool, adding that many of its users were currently in the United States.

*Tackling AI inaccuracies*
On concerns over inaccurate information generated by artificial intelligence systems, Badiru said users of AskProf were encouraged to verify information from credible sources rather than regard AI-generated responses as unquestionable facts.

He added that the platform provided a feedback mechanism through which users could rate responses.

According to him, the broader objective is to encourage students to regard artificial intelligence as a learning aid rather than a substitute for independent thinking.

“Don’t just use AI to get answers; use it to become smarter,” he said.

Badiru said early responses to the platform had come from parents, students, and university lecturers, some of whom had introduced it to their students.

He, however, said it was premature to claim that the platform had resulted in measurable improvements in students’ grades or examination performance.
“It’s still early, and I’d rather be accurate than impressive,” he said.

“What I can point to is adoption, which is its own kind of early success. The measurable outcomes will come, and when they do, I’d like them to be verified rather than anecdotal.”

Badiru said plans were underway to develop native versions of AskProf for major mobile application stores.

He added that users could currently install the platform on their phone home screens through a browser and use it in an app-like format.

According to him, discussions on partnerships with schools, universities, and other educational institutions are also planned, with the proposed Oye-Ibidapo-Obe Technical University in Ilesha among institutions the project intends to engage.

Badiru said the long-term objective was to demonstrate how artificial intelligence could expand access to personalised learning without eliminating the intellectual effort required in education.

“We want AskProf to serve as a proof that a tutor built with the right values – teach first, don’t just answer – can reach students a single professor never could in a lifetime of lecturing,” he said.

He maintained that as students increasingly embrace artificial intelligence, the central issue should not simply be whether they use the technology but whether they use it to avoid learning or to improve their understanding.

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