Exploring the pedagogical uses of AI chatbots

In the fall of 2018, CSUN opted to test CSUNny by allowing half of all first-time freshmen access to the chatbot and measuring their success against a control group that did not use CSUNny. But does this mean that only the admissions team and teachers can take advantage of a chatbot? Here are some of the other teams that can also take advantage of a chatbot for their processes. As the number of prospective students and inquiries increases, manually managing and responding to each one becomes challenging.

Although Andy scores slightly higher, it still reveals a need for more adaptable conversation styles for advanced learners. The satisfaction levels in the LEX dimension may also depend on the chatbots’ design relative to students’ levels, with significant differences observed among the four AICs. For example, while Buddy.ai is oriented towards developing oral skills in children at a lower level, John Bot and Andy are designed for vocabulary and grammar building through role-playing interactions at more intermediate levels.

Personalized learning at scale with the help of chatbots

Additionally, investing in research and development to enhance AI chatbot capabilities and address identified concerns is crucial for a seamless integration into educational systems. Researchers are strongly encouraged to fill the identified research gaps through rigorous studies that delve deeper into the impact of chatbots on education. Exploring the long-term effects, optimal integration strategies, and addressing ethical considerations should take the forefront in research initiatives. Tutoring, which focuses on skill-building in small groups or one-on-one settings, can benefit learning (Kraft, Schueler, Loeb, & Robinson, 2021).

This sophistication, drawing upon recent advancements in large language models (LLMs), has led to increased customer satisfaction and more versatile chatbot applications. Expanding on the necessity for improved customization in AICs, the integration of different features can be proposed to enhance chatbot-human personalization (Belda-Medina et al., 2022). These features include the ability to customize avatars (age, gender, voice, etc.) similar to intelligent conversational agents such as Replika. For example, incorporating familiar characters from cartoons or video games into chatbots can enhance engagement, particularly for children who are learning English by interacting with their favorite characters. Furthermore, by incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) technology, avatars can be launched and video calls can be enabled on social platforms such as Kuki.ai, thereby adding a layer of personal interaction.

However, there have been contradictory findings related to critical thinking, learning engagement, and motivation. Deng and Yu (2023) found that chatbots had a significant and positive influence on numerous learning-related aspects but they do not significantly improve motivation among students. Contrary, Okonkwo and Ade-Ibijola (Okonkwo & Ade-Ibijola, 2021), as well as (Wollny et al., 2021) find that using chatbots increases students’ motivation. A chatbot in the education industry is an AI-powered virtual assistant designed to interact with students, teachers, and other stakeholders in the educational ecosystem. Using advanced Conversational AI and Generative AI technologies, chatbots can engage in natural language conversations, providing personalized support and delivering relevant information on various educational topics.

Each step in the flow is a chatbot-initiated action that is customizable, e.g., informing prospects about the unique qualities of your learning programs. The developments amount to a face-plant by Humane, which had positioned itself as a top contender among a wave of A.I. Humane spent five years building a device to disrupt the smartphone — only to flounder. Days before gadget reviewers weighed in on the Humane Ai Pin, a futuristic wearable device powered by artificial intelligence, the founders of the company gathered their employees and encouraged them to brace themselves.

For the interaction, detailed instructions were provided via Moodle, with the aim not to measure the participants’ English learning progress, but to enable critical analysis of each AIC as future educators. This assessment was aligned with the CHISM scale, which was completed in a post-survey. A minimum interaction of three hours per week with each AIC, or 48 h over a month across all AICs, was requested from each participant. Qualitative data were collected through class discussions and assessment reports of the AICS following a template provided through the Moodle platform. During the 1-month intervention period in each educational setting, participants independently completed the assessment reports.

Since different researchers with diverse research experience participated in this study, article classification may have been somewhat inaccurate. As such, we mitigated this risk by cross-checking the work done by each reviewer to ensure that no relevant article was erroneously excluded. We also discussed and clarified all doubts and gray areas after analyzing each selected article. Various design principles, including pedagogical ones, have been used in the selected studies (Table 8, Fig. 8).

Six (16.66%) articles presented educational chatbots that exclusively operate on a mobile platform (e.g., phone, tablet). Examples include Rexy (Benedetto & Cremonesi, 2019), which helps students enroll in courses, shows exam results, and gives feedback. Another example is the E-Java Chatbot (Daud et al., 2020), a virtual tutor that teaches the Java programming language. Several studies have found that educational chatbots improve students’ learning experience. For instance, Okonkwo and Ade-Ibijola (2021) found out that chatbots motivate students, keep them engaged, and grant them immediate assistance, particularly online. Additionally, Wollny et al. (2021) argued that educational chatbots make education more available and easily accessible.

The User Experience dimension (UEX) revealed that while some AICs were able to provide a moderate level of enjoyment and engagement, overall satisfaction levels were not as positive as expected. This indicates the need for AICs to offer a more personalized learning experience to sustain learner engagement and interest. The CHISM results, particularly in the Language Experience (LEX) dimension, revealed significant insights about the teacher candidates’ perceptions of the four evaluated chatbots. When examining why none of the AICs achieved moderate satisfaction in the LEX dimension, it is crucial to consider each AIC’s design and target audience limitations, as pointed out in previous research (Gokturk, 2017; Hajizadeh, 2023). For instance, Mondly’s reliance on pre-programmed responses and Buddy.ai’s focus on repetitive drills for children limit dynamic conversation, resulting in lower satisfaction in maintaining contextually relevant dialogues.

They ensure a more interactive and effective student learning method and alleviate teachers’ workload. From homework assistance and personalized tutoring to administrative tasks and language learning, chatbots can potentially revolutionize the educational landscape. Over time, chatbot algorithms became capable of more complex rules-based programming and even natural language processing, enabling customer queries to be expressed in a conversational way. This gave rise to a new type of chatbot, contextually aware and armed with machine learning to continuously optimize its ability to correctly process and predict queries through exposure to more and more human language. AI chatbots can personalize the support experience for each user based on their unique preferences and behavior.

Chatbot for Education: Use cases, Templates, and Tools

Over more than two hours, Sydney and I talked about its secret desire to be human, its rules and limitations, and its thoughts about its creators. One is a chat feature that allows the user to have extended, open-ended text conversations with Bing’s built-in A.I. Compared to last year, the survey found, the percentage of teachers who say they are familiar with ChatGPT, an AI chatbot from OpenAI, rose from 55 percent to 79 percent; among K-12 students, the figure surged from 37 percent to 75 percent. “There is much discourse about the rise and prevalence of AI in education and beyond. These debates often lack the perspectives of key stakeholders – parents, students and teachers,” said the foundation in a release on Tuesday. Still, the release represents a significant step to stave off a threat to Google’s most lucrative business, its search engine. A chatbot can instantly produce answers in complete sentences that don’t force people to scroll through a list of results, which is what a search engine would offer.

Humane retained Tidal Partners, an investment bank, to help navigate the discussions while also managing a new funding round that would value it at $1.1 billion, three people with knowledge of the plans said. Humane’s Ai Pin was supposed to free people from smartphones, but sales have been slow. The intersection of AI and education is seen as necessary — as necessary as teaching kids how to use AI if they want to be prepared for their adult life, according to 2hr Learning and Alpha School’s Price. And though some teachers worry — like many other workers — that AI will take their jobs, “to the contrary, the Department firmly rejects the idea that AI could replace teachers,” the report read.

However, the final participant count was 155 Spanish students and 82 Czech students, as some declined to participate or did not submit the required tasks. Participation was voluntary, and students who actively engaged with the chatbots and completed all tasks, including submitting transcripts and multiple-date screenshots, were rewarded with extra credits in their monthly quizzes. This approach ensured higher participation and meaningful interaction with the chatbots, contributing to the study’s insights into the effectiveness of AICs in language education.

You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. In the form of chatbots, Juji cognitive AI assistants automate high-touch student engagements empathetically. About a week after the reviews came out, Humane started talking to HP, the computer and printer company, about selling itself for more than $1 billion, three people with knowledge of the conversations said. Other potential buyers have emerged, though talks have been casual and no formal sales process has begun. On Tuesday night, I had a long conversation with the chatbot, which revealed (among other things) that it identifies not as Bing but as Sydney, the code name Microsoft gave it during development.

For example, Winkler and Söllner (2018) focused on chatbots used for improving learning outcomes. On the other hand, Cunningham-Nelson et al. (2019) discussed how chatbots could be applied to enhance the student’s learning experience. The study by Pérez et al. (2020) reviewed the existing types of educational chatbots and the learning results expected from them.

The language proficiency of the students aligned with the upper intermediate (B2) and advanced (C1) levels as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), while some participants were at the native speaker (C2) level. In our study, the primary focus was on evaluating language teacher candidates’ perceptions of AICs in language learning, rather than assessing language learning outcomes. Considering that the majority of participants possessed an upper intermediate (B2-C1) or advanced (C2) proficiency level, the distinction between native and non-native speakers was not deemed a crucial factor for this research. Subsequently, a statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of language nativeness (Spanish and Czech versus non-Spanish and non-Czech speakers), revealing no significant differences in the study’s outcomes.

It was a great opportunity to be creative and figure out how to activate in-context learning, taking advantage of the unique spaces where the students were, and the wide world out there. IBM Watson Assistant helps answer student queries, provides course information, assists with research, and offers personalized recommendations for academic resources. The solution is to integrate an https://chat.openai.com/ with a higher-education CRM to help your admissions team create magic. It’s not easy for an instructor to resolve doubts and engage with every student during lectures. Let’s take a look at how you can use education chatbots to collect and disseminate information faster.

personalized learning

But let’s see how it can improve processes and metrics to help you get more student enrollments. Conversational AI is revolutionizing the way businesses communicate with their customers and everyone is loving this new way. Businesses are adopting artificial intelligence and investing more and more in it for automating different business processes like customer support, marketing, sales, customer engagement and overall customer experience.

More recently, in 2016, Facebook opened its Messenger platform for chatbot development, allowing businesses to create AI-powered conversational agents to interact with users. This led to an explosion of chatbots on the platform, enabling tasks like customer support, news delivery, and e-commerce (Holotescu, 2016). Google Duplex, introduced in May 2018, was able to make phone calls and carry out conversations on behalf of users. It showcased the potential of chatbots to handle complex, real-time interactions in a human-like manner (Dinh & Thai, 2018; Kietzmann et al., 2018). Addressing these gaps in the existing literature would significantly benefit the field of education. Firstly, further research on the impacts of integrating chatbots can shed light on their long-term sustainability and how their advantages persist over time.

This automated follow-up reduces manual efforts, and increases the chances of conversion. An AI-enabled education chatbot can deliver personalized communication and nudge the student to act faster. The chatbot can not only explain the steps involved, but also save the counselor’s time on following-up for necessary documents.

In some cases, the teaching agent started the conversation by asking the students to watch educational videos (Qin et al., 2020) followed by a discussion about the videos. In other cases, the teaching agent started the conversation by asking students to reflect on past learning (Song et al., 2017). Other studies discussed a scenario-based approach to teaching with teaching agents (Latham et al., 2011; D’mello & Graesser, 2013). The teaching agent simply mimics a tutor by presenting scenarios to be discussed with students.

This new content can include high-quality text, images and sound based on the LLMs they are trained on. Chatbot interfaces with generative AI can recognize, summarize, translate, predict and create content in response to a user’s query without the need for human interaction. A chatbot, short for chatterbot, is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct a conversation via auditory or textual methods and interacts with humans in their natural languages. These interactions usually occur through websites, messaging applications, or mobile apps, where the bot is capable of simulating and maintaining human-like conversations and perform different tasks (Adamopoulou & Moussiades, 2020).

It is evident that chatbot technology has a significant impact on overall learning outcomes. Specifically, chatbots have demonstrated significant enhancements in learning achievement, explicit reasoning, and knowledge retention. The integration of chatbots in education offers benefits such as immediate assistance, quick access to information, enhanced learning outcomes, and improved educational experiences.

This innovative approach to mobile learning has been positively received by both students and teachers. For example, Chen et al. (2020) highlighted the effectiveness of AICs for Chinese vocabulary learning by comparing chatbot-based tutoring with traditional classroom settings. The study reported positive user feedback on the chatbot’s ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment, as measured by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Similarly, Chat GPT Yang (2022) underscored the favourable views of AICs in English language education, with teachers valuing the chatbot’s capacity to manage routine tasks, thereby allowing them to concentrate on more substantial classroom duties. In this study, students appreciated the supplemental use of chatbots for their ability to provide immediate feedback on unfamiliar words or concepts, thereby enriching their English textbook learning.

Bibliographic and Citation Tools

Effective tutors may use questioning techniques, collaborative problem-solving, and personalized instruction to support their students. While Stanford provides a range of tutoring services, not all students use them regularly; students might use AI chatbots as a supplement to tutoring services. For example, users can prompt chatbots to generate explanations and analogies for concepts based on your or your students’ interests or to ask open-ended questions that encourage further thinking. Chatbots may be better at tutoring certain subjects than others, so be sure to try it out first to assess the helpfulness of the responses.

When OpenAI launched GPT-4o, it featured a virtual tutor who could help with an algebra equation via video in real time. AI chatbots can serve as an early-warning system, identifying mental health issues before they escalate and offering potential for early intervention. Multiple factors contribute to a need for South African higher education institutions to address mental health more innovatively. Many students still deal with the stigma of visiting a counselling centre despite measures to maintain confidentiality. The public health system in South Africa offers limited mental health services, which results in countless students grappling with depression, anxiety and other issues. In addition, there is a shortage of mental health professionals, long waiting lists at clinics, and issues with access for students in rural communities and efficiency of the system.

Reduce costs and boost operational efficiency

Staffing a customer support center day and night is expensive. Likewise, time spent answering repetitive queries (and the training that is required to make those answers uniformly consistent) is also costly. Many overseas enterprises offer the outsourcing of these functions, but education chatbot doing so carries its own significant cost and reduces control over a brand’s interaction with its customers. Chatbots can make it easy for users to find information by instantaneously responding to questions and requests—through text input, audio input, or both—without the need for human intervention or manual research.

Secondly, we study selected articles and synthesize results and lastly, we report and discuss the findings. To improve the clarity of the discussion section, we employed Large Language Model (LLM) for stylistic suggestions. Subsequently, we delve into the methodology, encompassing aspects such as research questions, the search process, inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as the data extraction strategy. Moving on, we present a comprehensive analysis of the results in the subsequent section. Finally, we conclude by addressing the limitations encountered during the study and offering insights into potential future research directions.

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For queries about part-time opportunities, student organizations, etc, a chatbot can guide students to the right resources and offer support for various non-academic matters. More recently, more sophisticated and capable chatbots amazed the world with their abilities. Among them, ChatGPT and Google Bard are among the most profound AI-powered chatbots.

There are numerous concerns that must be addressed in order to gain broader acceptance and understanding. Since its adoption at UWC in October 2023, 2,368 users have engaged with the Wysa platform, of which 13 per cent are staff members, including academic and support staff. Upon onboarding, users have reported facing challenges related to motivation (10 per cent) and anxiety (10 per cent).

Natural language processing and machine-learning algorithms are used to formulate a response to the student’s concerns, which creates a feeling of care and support. In addition, a chatbot can provide daily check-ins, tell the student about self-help strategies and coping mechanisms, and be a presence in their life. Not only do AI chatbots increase accessibility to services regardless of the student’s location, they also have the potential to provide life-saving support in critical situations. Their 24-hour availability gives students access to professional support at any time.

An embodied chatbot has a physical body, usually in the form of a human, or a cartoon animal (Serenko et al., 2007), allowing them to exhibit facial expressions and emotions. When using a chatbot, the gathering of data and feedback from the students happens in a way that is organic and integrated into the learning experience — without the need for separate surveys or tests. The data is captured digitally in a format that can be analyzed manually or by using algorithms that can detect themes, patterns, and connections. In effect the teacher can “interact” with and learn from multiple learners at the same time (in theory an infinite number of them). The widespread adoption of chatbots and their increasing accessibility has sparked contrasting reactions across different sectors, leading to considerable confusion in the field of education.

An implementation plan that accompanies this policy encourages each faculty to proactively tailor action to their students’ mental health needs. We have a nonprofit called Schoolhouse.world, which gives free live tutoring over Zoom. But we’re still going to need engaged parents and teachers that can help motivate and drive kids to get the help that they need. I think you’ve had many people work on this problem for decades using more basic forms of artificial intelligence.

Consider asking the chatbot to take on a particular perspective or identity. Claude, the name of the large language model and chatbot developed by Anthropic, uses a different method of training from GPT and Bard that aims to focus on safety and helpfulness. Bard, a generative AI chatbot developed by Google, relies on the Pathways Language Model (PaLM) large language model. Follow this step-to-step guide to enable chatbot Q&A for intended users, e.g., students or instructors.

ChatGPT, available to the public via a web app, can answer questions and generate slick, well-structured blocks of text several thousand words long on almost any topic it is asked about, from string theory to Shakespeare. Each essay it produces is unique, even when it is given the same prompt again, and its authorship is (practically) impossible to spot. It looked as if ChatGPT would undermine the way we test what students have learned, a cornerstone of education. These programs have one or a few functionalities that tackle specific problems. This article on Chatbots Magazine, written by the creators of Hubert, has pointed out six ways how Artificial Intelligence and chatbots can improve education, and we will list the three most important ones. One of the biggest breakthroughs in the development of artificial intelligence and natural language procession happened when Georgetown University and IBM joined their forces and presented the first demonstration of machine translation.

Proponents say the digital assistants can help districts utilize their human resources more efficiently and promote equity in the process. Qualitative data, obtained from in-class discussions and assessment reports submitted through the Moodle platform, were systematically coded and categorized using QDA Miner. The goal was to analyse and identify the main benefits and drawbacks of each AIC as perceived by teacher candidates. These themes were cross-referenced with the different components of the CHISM model to establish correlations as shown in Table 7. Frequency in the table refers to the number of observations made in the sample of textual data based on the written assessments provided by participants.

• So, artificial intelligence must embed the power of cultural cues in its communicative pathways.
• About a week after the reviews came out, Humane started talking to HP, the computer and printer company, about selling itself for more than $1 billion, three people with knowledge of the conversations said.
• With a lack of proper input data, there is the ongoing risk of “hallucinations,” delivering inaccurate or irrelevant answers that require the customer to escalate the conversation to another channel.
• But one special power of chatbots seems to be that they’re close enough to human to forge a bond with students, yet not human enough to make them uncomfortable.
• Nearly all those who had used it (88% of teachers and 79% of students) said it had a positive impact.

IBM Consulting brings deep industry and functional expertise across HR and technology to co-design a strategy and execution plan with you that works best for your HR activities. Both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due privacy reasons but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Promptly addressing students’ doubts and concerns, chatbots enable teachers to provide immediate clarifications, fostering a more conducive and effective learning environment. Chatbots in education serve as valuable administrative companions for both prospective and existing students. Instead of enduring the hassle of visiting the office and waiting in long queues for answers, students can simply text the chatbots to quickly resolve their queries. This user-friendly option provides convenient and efficient access to information, enhancing the overall student experience and streamlining administrative processes.

It is that tool that will help them to grow, learn and use their skills in the best possible way. Ashok Goel, a computer science professor at Georgia Tech, is one of the first teachers to simplify his work in this way, with the help of artificial intelligence. He built a chatbot using the IBM’s Watson platform and named it Jill Watson.

It is far too soon to say what the lasting impact of ChatGPT will be—it hasn’t even been around for a full semester. And they will only get better at standing in for a student on deadline—more accurate and harder to detect. Educational-tech companies including Duolingo and Quizlet, which makes digital flash cards and practice assessments used by half of all high school students in the US, have already integrated OpenAI’s chatbot into their apps.

In the past, Donahoe would set her students to writing assignments in which they had to make an argument for something—and grade them on the text they turned in. This semester, she asked her students to use ChatGPT to generate an argument and then had them annotate it according to how effective they thought the argument was for a specific audience. Nearly all those who had used it (88% of teachers and 79% of students) said it had a positive impact. The chatbot should reflect the institution’s values and brand and be designed to communicate in a way that resonates with the target audience. Chatbots can provide information on emergency procedures, such as lockdowns or evacuations, and offer guidance on reporting incidents such as sexual harassment or mental health concerns.

• Most schools and universities have upgraded their feedback collection process by shifting from print to online forms.
• Chatbot adoption is especially crucial in online classes that include many students where individual support from educators to students is challenging (Winkler & Söllner, 2018).
• 3 is more than 36 (the number of selected articles) as the authors of a single article could work in institutions located in different countries.

To attract the right talent and improve enrollments, colleges need to share their brand stories. Chatbots can disseminate this information when the student enquires about the college. You might first use the chatbot to help you define a project and break down the work into manageable chunks, then clarify the function or routine you want to work on. You might then use the chatbot to generate examples or suggest useful methods (Gewirtz, n.d.). Go to claude.ai/login and sign in with an email address or Google account to access the Claude chatbot.