UNIVERSITY NEWS, 60(08) FEbRUaRY 21-27, 2022 1

Chatbots in Education System

Vijaya Lakshmi, Y* and Ishfaq majid**

With the changes happening around the world, started to experiment with AI, while 38% have
the practices in the education system are also catching embraced AI as a core part of their business strategy.
up the track. Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) has enabled the education system Chatbots
to adopt these changes in a faster way and as a result The use of AI based Chatbots is on popularity. It
today we are able to integrate the concepts and all started with a basic question raised by Turing test
ideas like Technology Mediated Learning (TML), (1950) that “Can machines think?” From the oldest
customized learning, Intelligent Tutoring System chatbot Eliza to the latest voice based assistants like
(ITS), Spaced Interval Learning (Spaced Interval Siri from Apple, Alexa from Amazon, Microsoft’s
learning helps students polish up what they have Cortana or Assistant from Google, today chatbots
studied until then), unsupervised robotic assessments, are being used in almost all fields to handle various
virtual tutor assistance etc. in educational practices routine/monotonous tasks (Hephzibah, 2020)and
(Hephzibah, 2020). The TPACK model of ICT thus save the time for productive and creative tasks.
integration (Mishra and Koehler, 2006) also The type of communication used by chatbot (text/
suggests that for developing good quality content, it voice based; facial based or robots) determines the
requires a careful interweaving of all the three key interaction process that takes between the user and
sources of knowledge: technology, pedagogy, and chatbot (Gracia, Fuertes and Molas, 2018). Chatbots
content and hence use of technology is essential in are the software programmes or applications that has
education. ICT also plays a very critical role in not the ability to respond to users’ messages by choosing
only achieving the Sustainable Development Goals correct expression from a pre-programmed schemes or
(SDGs) but also addressing the issues of inclusion using adaptive machine learning algorithms (Neff and
by giving equal opportunity to everyone to learn. Nagy, 2016; Gracia, Fuertes and Molas, 2018; Fichter
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being looked up as a and Wisniewski, 2017). Some bots have the ability
potential ICT option to transform how education to run automatically, while some perform commands
would operate. It can also help us to move from when they receive specific input (Colace et al., 2018).
the stage of knowledge acquisition to knowledge Thus, chatbots have evolved over time and now
creation (UNESCO, 2011). AI is currently used some chatbots can include features like recognition
in education in the form of customizable content and oral expression, detection of emotional state to
through adaptive learning programmes and software, communicate with a person or another chatbotsand
tracking and monitoring diagnostics, automation of give the feel of presence of a real person (ZEMČÍK,
grading and even AI tutors. AI will continue to bring 2019; Gracia, Fuertes and Molas, 2018). They are
in new prospects for the enhancement of learning, also emerging as a new interface, designed in such a
new forms of learning and will also offer more way that they can replace or complement applications
adaptable lifelong learning pathways (UNESCO, or visits to a website by enabling users to simply
2011). interact with help of chat (Knill, et. al. 2004). The
advantage of using chatbots in education is that they
In a study carried out by Ritu and Hayley
can be made available 24 X 7 and have qualities like
(2020), it was found that as high as 99.4 per cent
persistence, honest, reactive, friendly (Zoroayka,
of United States higher education stakeholders
2018 and Tsvetkova et. al, 2017). The compound
believe that AI will be instrumental in institution’s
annual growth rate of Chatbot Market is projected
competitiveness in the next three years and 15 per cent
to increase by 34.75 per cent from 2019 to 2025
of them called AI a “game-changer,” and at least 54 (Artificial Solutions, 2020).
per cent of US higher education institutions have
* Assistant Professor, School of Education, Central Chatbots are also known by different names
University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar-382030 (Gujarat). such as a talkbots, chatterbots, conversational
E-mail: [email protected]. AI bot, AI chatbot, AI assistant, intelligent virtual
**Research Scholar, School of Education, Central University assistant, virtual customer assistant, digital assistant,
of Gujarat, Gandhinagar-382030 (Gujarat). conversational agent, virtual agent, conversational

UNIVERSITY NEWS, 60(08) FEbRUaRY 21-27, 2022 15

interface etc. Chatbots have varying degrees of 2018). Chatbots can also be useful in hybrid courses
intelligence and higher the degree of intelligence that mix face-to-face classroom experiences with
higher would be its ability to respond satisfactorily. student self-directed learning online. In class, AI
based chatbot applications can also take attendance
What Can They Do in Education? and perform other administrative functions. Some
The aim of use of chatbots in education is not institutions have begun to use AI to help grade
to replace the teacher but to reduce the burden of tests and even assess some student work (Artificial
repetitive and low cognitive level tasks carried out Intelligence and Chatbots in Higher Education, 2020).
by the teacher and thus increase her/his efficiency. Use of chatbots in teaching learning process can act
In field of education the use of chatbots can be like a programmed learning material which can direct
divided into those used with educational intention the students to learning objects as per the ability of
and those without educational intention. When the learner. Lundqvist et al., (2013) claimed that the
used with educational intention, they can work as chatbot developed by them worked as an automated
virtual assistants/virtual tutors; exercise and practice interviewer and was able to understand most users
programmes etc. to improve productivity and hence feedback with a 96.7% success rate. Thus, chatbots
they can be developed on the grounds of socio- by asking students challenging questions can create
constructivist approaches of learning (Gracia, Fuertes curiosity among students and thus support their
and Molas, 2018). Chatbots when used without learning process (Oudeyer, Gottlieb, and Lopes,
educational intention can be used to answer FAQs 2016). APA (Animated Pedagogical Agents) software
related to various elements of the syllabus/course, agents guide users through virtual (computer-
can handle many repetitive questions raised by based) environments and are potentially beneficial
students regarding project guidelines, deliverables, for learning and decrease anxiety and also can act
deadlines, grades, etc. and thus work on the basis like social interaction schema that influence student
of behaviorist and cognitivist approaches of learning motivation positively (Clark and Choi 2005; Gulz
(Gracia, Fuertes and Molas, 2018, Pradana, Goh, and 2005; Atkinson 2002; Choi and Clark 2006; Domagk
Kumar, 2018; Fleming et al. 2018). Ndukwe, Daniel 2010; Frechette and Moreno 2010). Schroeder, et. al.
and Amadi (2019) explored the scope of using (2013) reported a small, but positive and significant
Chatbots in providing automated assessment and effect of using APAs on learning. However, studies
foster engagement with students and claimed that by Van der et. al., (2015) and Heidig and Clarebout
a good inter-rater agreement was observed between (2011) which explored the utility of APA in enhancing
the automated and the human grading. Han (2017) student motivation and learning concluded that
remarks that chatbots can be utilized to execute tasks effectiveness of APA in learning is still largely an
like providing reminders, introducing new concepts, open questions which needs to be explored much
answering FAQ’s and offering training to new further and also the design of the APA to a great extent
employees. Chatbots can act as a means to provide determines its effectiveness. Winkler and Soellner
virtual language practice to students anytime. Fryer (2018) in their work through systematic literature
and Carpenter (2006); Nghi et al., (2018) claim that review concluded that chatbots are still in the very
in Foreign language learning, students felt more beginning of entering the field of education and for
comfortable in conversing with the bots than with a them to be successful they should be designed by
student partner or teacher and also they created fun keeping the cognitive as well as emotional status of
and excitement in them for learning. Zoroayka, 2018 students. Colace, et al., 2018 asserted that the results
claims that in higher education especially in online of designing and experimenting the integration of
courses, where the instructors are often required chatbots in their university platform proved effective
to answer high number of emails which are to be and such experiments have good perspective. David
answered in a time-bound period, the use of chatbots Kellermann (as cited by Dan Ayoub) developed a
can be very useful. Chatbots can also engange question bot which is capable of answering questions
students in classroom activities by providing them on its own, delivering video of past lectures, flag the
with interactive quizzes. Students can also ask take questions of student for Teaching Assistants (TAs)
the help of chatbots to access information that is to follow-up. Anne G Neering chatbot developed by
difficult to find in a Learning Management System Crown, et al., (2010) helped to combine learning and
(LMS) environment at any time and place (Clark, fun in teaching learning of the course content.

16 UNIVERSITY NEWS, 60(08) FEbRUaRY 21-27, 2022

Are They Really Helpful? 3. Atkinson, R. K. (2002). Optimizing learning from examples
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