I believe these personalised learning websites are wonderful in so many ways. They're personalised, so you can learn at your own pace, replay something that you didn't get as well, and move ahead when it's too easy. Sites like Duolingo or Khan Academy demonstrate how successful this can be, particularly for those who don't fare well in traditional classrooms or who don't have good schools where they live. It's hard to argue with how useful and effective they are.
But when I think about school, it's not memorisation or high scoring in tests. Classrooms are where you learn how to work with others, collaborate, and learn how to get your thoughts across. You can't learn that in an app. An AI may be great at assisting a person in learning maths, but it will not assist a person in learning to do well on a difficult group project or give a presentation to a large group of people.
The Human Element
There's also the feeling that goes with it. A good teacher does more than teach; they motivate, inspire, and sometimes get you to feel like you can do more than you ever dreamed you could. I don't think an intelligent program, no matter how intelligent, can provide that human connection.
Finding the Right Balance
Perhaps we don't have to replace classrooms. Perhaps we do the fundamentals, such as vocabulary or problem-solving, on these online sites and then apply classroom time to things that are improved with other humans, such as discussion, hands-on activity, or learning to collaborate. It's probably about finding a balance where technology and in-person teaching complement each other rather than one attempting to supplant the other.