Ultimate Guide to Chatbots for Learning and Education

Overview

We’re always learning new things as there is limitless knowledge to be consumed in this world. Every day is a lesson, and although it can be challenging to be a learner, it is arguably more challenging to be an educator.

Learners have to focus mainly on learning their course content, but educators have to plan the curriculum, find ways to disseminate the content, figure out how to make the lessons engaging, try to personalise classes to meet different student needs, give learners marks and input, as well as rework their courses after reviewing student feedback.

Furthermore, students only have to pay attention to one teacher per class, but teachers have to pay attention to a big group of students per class.

Three of the biggest problems that most educators face are:

• Disengaged learners
• Different pace of learning and needs
• Overworked educators

To tackle that, chatbots have been introduced to the learning environment.

You may also know chatbots as conversational agents, AI assistant, chatterbots, conversational interfaces, or learning buddies.

Here at Noodle Factory, we’re always sharing the latest trends regarding AI and chatbots, but today, we’re going back to basics to give you a breakdown of chatbots, particularly those in the education and learning field.

What is an educational chatbot? 

As its name suggests, educational chatbots are here to help learners in their learning journeys. So, you know that they help users, well… learn, but what exactly are they?

They are a software designed to simulate human-like conversations with users via text. You’ll find that they are used largely in two areas – corporate learning and higher education.

Here, we’ll share the key roles performed by educational chatbots.

Use cases in Corporate Learning:

• Onboarding: Stable onboarding experience with a virtual guide
• Just-in-time learning: Getting answers and information when you need them
• Support facilitator: Virtual facilitator at work and at home
• Reinforced learning: Chat and review at your own convenience
• Pre- and post-assessments: Review your knowledge
• Information management: Organise information

Use cases in Education:

• Adaptive tutoring: Learning at your own pace
• Answer queries: Explain and define concepts
• Automated assessments: Auto-marking of multiple choice and short answer questions
• Exam preparations: Practice with a learning buddy
• Course matching: Virtual course consultant
• Student support: Students’ Helpdesk

How do learning chatbots work?

There are two main types of chatbots – rule-based chatbots and AI chatbots.

1. Rule-based chatbots 

Rule-based chatbots operate based on a fixed set of rules. Since they have a script to follow, they are unable to learn from or adapt to their interactions.

They do not understand the context of the conversation but are still able to reply because they pick up on keywords.

Although this can be convenient for providing answers and solutions to common questions and problems, rule-based chatbots are unable to understand different spelling, dialect, or phrasing if it was not inputted into their system.

This is why people often need to rephrase their question multiple times or wait to be transferred to a human agent.

Despite their shortcomings, rule-based chatbots still have clear benefits and are a popular option among businesses because they are the cheapest, fastest, and easiest chatbot to implement.

2. AI chatbots 

AI chatbots, on the other hand, are able to communicate freely with users. They are superior conversationalists because of the following:

• AI chatbots leverage machine learning, which enables them to find patterns in conversations, make decisions independently, and learn from conversations.
• AI chatbots use natural language processing (NLP), which aids them in understanding human communication and helps them to replicate said behaviour.
• AI chatbots use sentiment analysis, which allows AI chatbots to better understand user emotions.

As with all chatbots, AI chatbots have to undergo training and be programmed with responses to start out. But as they are able to learn from past experience and do not require manual updating, they will continuously improve to serve users better.

Additionally, AI chatbots are able to understand various languages and understand emotions, allowing them to personalise every user experience.

Let’s take a closer look at AI chatbots that are used for learning and education.

Critical functions of educational chatbots

A chatbot’s main function is to chat with its human user, which means its communication skills and functions are of utmost importance.

In order to carry out natural two-way conversations between educational chatbot and human user, the chatbots must be able to complete key functions to meet the users’ personalised needs:

• Have human-like conversations with users
• Conduct two-way conversations
• Provide accurate and helpful responses
• Use of natural language processing
• Receive continuous user feedback to refine results

What is the ideal user for educational chatbots?

Using chatbots in education and learning can be useful to users of all ages. However, it is recommended to be used for adult learners and students in higher learning educations.

People above the age of 16 are mature and thus more inclined to take independent studying seriously. In fact, independent studying is usually already in their school curriculum by that age.

What a well-designed and built chatbot can do for...

Learners: Educational chatbots can keep student engagement high and optimise learning time.

Educators, teachers, and trainers: Educational chatbots can increase productivity and improve learning outcomes.

Welcome to the evolution of educational chatbots 

We’re only just beginning to discover all the wonderful possibilities of educational chatbots. Who knows what the future holds for chatbots in learning and education.

If you want to dive deeper into learning about educational chatbots, the pedagogical roles they play in the current learning environment, as well as the possible concerns and risks when incorporating them, stay tuned for part 2 of this guide!

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