Latest news with #VTA
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Science
- Korea Herald
AI teaching assistant shows real promise at S. Korea tech university KAIST
South Korea's top science and engineering university has rolled out a custom-built AI teaching assistant to help students in large graduate courses, and early results show it helped reduce repetitive student questions while encouraging more active, self-directed learning. At Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a team of researchers led by AI graduate school professor Choi Yoon-jae and design professor Hong Hwa-jung developed a virtual teaching assistant, or VTA, that can answer student questions at any time, with responses tailored to specific lectures and coursework. The tool was piloted last fall in a programming class for AI, taken by 477 graduate students. It's the first time such a system has been tested at scale in a Korean university setting. What sets the KAIST VTA apart is that it isn't a generic chatbot. Instead, it runs on what's called a retrieval-augmented generation model, which pulls directly from course materials like slides, coding exercises and lecture videos. When students ask a question, the system finds the most relevant content and formulates a response based on that context. This means answers are grounded in what's actually taught, not just generated from a general AI model. Over 50 percent of students used the system regularly during the 14-week semester, generating nearly 3,870 questions and answers. Students without a strong background in AI or coding were among the most active users, suggesting the VTA helped close knowledge gaps for those new to the subject. These figures come from internal usage data collected by KAIST during the semester. The system didn't just benefit students. According to lead TA and doctoral researcher Kwon Soon-jun, it reduced the number of routine questions from students, such as basic concept definitions or explanations already given in class. That allowed human teaching assistants to focus more on deeper, more complex issues. Compared to the previous year's course, the volume of questions requiring direct responses from TAs dropped by around 40 percent, based on data compiled by Professor Choi. Students also appeared more comfortable asking questions through the VTA than to human TAs, especially when it came to theoretical topics. Surveys conducted by Choi's research team before, during and after the course showed that students became increasingly confident in the system's reliability, and those who had been hesitant to speak up in class reported higher satisfaction levels when using the AI assistant. The VTA's source code has been released publicly on GitHub to encourage adoption by other educators and researchers. The work was also accepted to the Industry Track at ACL 2025, one of the leading international conferences in natural language processing
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Work on new paid Express Lanes on San Jose highways will begin soon
The Valley Transportation Authority said work on creating new paid Express Lanes on part of Highway 85 and Highway 101 will begin on Friday. The paid Express Lanes will replace single carpool lanes from the Highway 101/Highway 85 interchange to Highway 87. Conversion work will include the Highway 101/Highway 85 Direct HOV to HOV connector ramps and the Highway 101 approaches. VTA said it is part of Phase 4 of the Express Lanes Project. Work on Phase 4 of the Express Lanes Project will begin on Friday, June 6, 2025, the VTA said. Valley Transportation Authority Express Lanes can be used by HOV vehicles and motorcycles for free, but non-HOV vehicles must pay a toll with a FasTrak transponder. The toll price is based on traffic, with more traffic increasing the price. Highway 85 Noise Reduction Work on a different project will begin on Friday as well. The VTA said its Highway 85 noise reduction program will break ground. Highway 85 in Mountain View, Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and South San Jose will get new pavement that reduces noise generation, the VTA said.
Business Journals
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
VTA buys downtown San Jose building for more than $60M
The VTA now owns 488 South Almaden Blvd., which last sold for more than twice the price, at $155 million. The former owner, Menlo Park-based Lane Partners, bought the 380,000 square-foot building from Oracle Corp in 2021.
CBS News
20-05-2025
- CBS News
Fire near San Leandro BART station disrupts East Bay service
Bay Area Rapid Transit service in much of the East Bay is being disrupted for the Tuesday morning commute due to an earlier fire on the San Leandro station. According to witnesses, the fire broke out shortly before 5 a.m. Additional details about the fire were not immediately available. Service on multiple lines have been halted as a result. As of 7 a.m., there is no Blue Line, Green Line or Orange Line service between the Lake Merritt station in Oakland, the Berryessa station in North San Jose and the Dublin / Pleasanton station. There is currently no Blue, Green or Orange line service between Lake Merritt, Berryessa and Dublin Stations due to issues related to a fire near San Leandro Station. AC Transit is offering mutual aid between Lake Merritt and Fremont Stations and VTA is providing mutual aid… — BART (@SFBART) May 20, 2025 AC Transit is offering mutual aid between Lake Merritt and Fremont stations and VTA is providing mutual aid between Milpitas and Berryessa stations. Yellow Line and Red Line service is not impacted. This is a breaking news update. More details to come.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
VTA urges boycott of travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan
Nagpur: The Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA) has called for a boycott on travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan due to the countries' support for Pakistan. The statement comes in the light of Operation Sindoor. VTA president Shrawan Malu said, "As taxpayers, we have a responsibility to ensure that our actions do not inadvertently support or bolster nations that harm our country's security. " Turkey and Azerbaijan's actions may pose a challenge to India's interests, and choosing to travel there and contribute to their economy could be used to further this agenda, he said. VTA appealed for a reconsideration of travel plans until a more favourable diplomatic situation is reached. It would be a powerful and patriotic move, says VTA. The secretary of VTA, Tejinder Renu, stated that standing firm in this action would ensure commitment to the country's well-being. "A unified approach will not only strengthen our nation's stance on the global stage but also send a clear message to Turkey, Azerbaijan, and other nations about the importance of respecting India's sovereignty," he said.
