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SINGAPORE \u2013 When senior lecturer Lee Boon Kee first assigned written work to 490 National University of Singapore (NUS) computing students, marking the papers took six weeks.<\/p>\n
Last semester, the same task took a fraction of the time \u2013 five minutes for a first pass.<\/p>\n
The difference was Ren, an AI-assisted marking tool that generated draft grades and feedback for review by teachers.<\/p>\n
But for Lee, who teaches a compulsory Digital and AI Ethics module for all NUS freshmen, the biggest benefit was not speed but the quality of marking.<\/p>\n
The tool can systematically check whether students applied several ethical frameworks and give detailed feedback, said Lee, adding that grading has become consistent.<\/p>\n
Ren was developed by three 23-year-olds from NUS \u2013 Wong Eu En, Justin Cheah and Natasha Koh \u2013 who founded education technology start-up Ren Education.<\/p>\n
Wong is a Year 2 computer science student and Cheah is a Year 4 computer science and business student, while Koh just graduated with a degree in information systems.<\/p>\n
Ren allows students to submit handwritten or typed assignments. Drawing on marking rubrics, syllabus materials and learning outcomes uploaded by teachers, the artificial intelligence generates a first-pass grade and detailed feedback.<\/p>\n
Teachers then review, edit and approve every grade and comment before they are released to students.<\/p>\n
Ren is now being piloted in 11 institutions in Singapore \u2013 including the School of Science and Technology and NUS. It is preparing for its first full schoolwide roll-out at St Andrew\u2019s Junior College in July.<\/p>\n
The tool is among a growing number of AI applications finding their way into classrooms.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Education also has AI-powered tools on its Student Learning Space platform, including Markly, which helps teachers provide feedback, along with another tool called Authoring Copilot that generates lesson ideas and activities, and feedback assistants that give students immediate feedback.<\/p>\n
Ren is currently working with 40 to 50 educators at the 11 partner institutions. By July, the team expects to serve about 5,600 students, Wong said.<\/p>\n
Schools subscribe to the service through customised annual plans.<\/p>\n
Most recently, the company partnered with Malay\/Muslim self-help group Mendaki to offer free academic support for A-level students.<\/p>\n
Since May 30, Mendaki, together with Ren, has been running tutoring sessions for these students in subjects like literature, history, chemistry and economics. About 600 students are expected to benefit.<\/p>\n
For lecturer Lee, consistency had long been one of the biggest challenges in grading.<\/p>\n
With one teaching assistant for every 20 to 30 students, different markers often gave different grades for similar answers.<\/p>\n