Friday finds (AI chatbots for learners)
Friday finds (AI chatbots for learners)
👋 Hi I’m Akis from EduRM where I share growth insights for education and learning providers. Subscribe here:
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🤖 Do your learners need an AI chatbot?
Chatbots have been around for quite a few years. With Large Language Models (LLMs) like the one used by chatGPT, the value they can offer to learners and instructors just multiplied by 1000x.
👌 AI chatbot use cases for learners
Aside from language learning, testing, and assessment, AI chatbots are used for:
🤝 Learner recruitment: Like in the example below from Purdue University, AI chatbots can answer FAQs from prospective learners, ask prospects open-ended questions, and persuade prospects to enroll.
🗺️ Learner onboarding: Builds the learner profile, aligns their goals and expectations, and reminds learners of the remaining onboarding steps.
Below is an interesting example of an onboarding chatbot (video) from the learning platform RiseUp:
🪞 Personalized learning: There are a lot of use cases where learners enjoy using chatbots for getting help. It’s a completely new situation, as now AI-based bots can support individually an unlimited number of learners at the same time, with adaptive feedback.
🚧 Project-based learning: Research has shown that education chatbots can enhance the learning outcomes of group learning as well.
Other examples:
Standford English Learning Program: A chatbot for diagnosing English proficiency levels.
Kasetsart University: A chatbot for learners of the Entrepreneurship Program that mimics private sessions with successful entrepreneurs.
👌 Where should learners interact with chatbots
For chatbots to work, they need to be embedded at the point of need. This can be a learning platform, a messaging/communication tool where learners interact, or the learner community (eg community platforms like Circle or WeSchool, the learner forum, or some version of what used to be the intranet).
Here is an example of a DialogFlow implementation in Moodle:
And here is another example of a chatbot implementation in Canvas by Instructure:
If the chatbot needs to be available on a social/communication tool like Slack or Microsoft Teams, given those tools have special APIs for this, you’ll need to build the relevant integration. More on this here: How to build an AI chatbot on Slack
More reading:
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See you at the next one,
Akis 👋