Artificial Intelligence in eLearning: The Rise of Chatbots

In this article, we’ll look at what chatbots are, what benefits they bring to the online learning industry, and how artificial intelligence in eLearning can help your educational processes. Without further ado, let’s get started.

What Chatbots Actually Are?

Even though chatbots are pretty standard, not everyone may know what they are. Chatbots are based on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to establish conversations between users and the platform. For example, very simple chatbots can use a script system to answer simple keyword questions. At the same time, more sophisticated representatives can analyze user behavior, remember queries, learn and engage in meaningful dialogue on complex topics.

In the context of using artificial intelligence in eLearning in general and chatbots in particular, they help make learning more intuitive, personalized, and more accessible. For example, using a chatbot can simplify navigation in the LMS system, allowing users to find the content they need by asking the chatbot quickly.

Famous Examples of Chatbots in eLearning

Another proof that chatbots are helpful is that they are used by large and well-known companies in the eLearning industry. We have collected three prime examples of chatbots in the table below.

Main Benefits of Chatbots in eLearning

Artificial intelligence in eLearning, like any other form of automation, brings a considerable number of benefits. It is these advantages that push the use of chatbots in their LMS systems and training programs.

Accessibility

One of the undeniable advantages of chatbots is fueled with artificial intelligence in eLearning. Chatbots are available to the user 24/7/365. They have no specific working hours, no days off, and no vacations. The only situation when a chatbot may be unavailable is if you disable it to introduce new features or fix problems with it.

Objectivity

We can bet that you have met during schooldays cases when a teacher can prejudice a particular student. And this resulted in overestimating or underestimating marks for tests, assignments, and so on. Artificial intelligence in eLearning helps eliminate this phenomenon since chatbots are just algorithms and are not subject to any feelings towards students. Thanks to this, they can provide maximum objectivity in the assessment of knowledge.

Great Tool for Self-Paced Learning

Self-paced learning is a big eLearning trend over the past few years since this type of learning is more effective than standard group learning. Chatbots are a great addition to this kind of learning flow. Thanks to automation and ample opportunities, students can easily systematize self-educational activities, delve into the details of the material, test themselves, and much more.

Wide Software Choice

In addition to the 24/7 availability we mentioned earlier, chatbots can boast widespread availability in terms of software. You can easily find chatbots in the form of mobile apps, web tools, social media add-ons, and so on. This opens up vast opportunities for introducing them into the teaching process, expanding the learning opportunities, and satisfying the needs of students.

User-Friendliness

Chatbots are a relatively simple tool to learn and are suitable for audiences of any age. This is due to the small number of interactions that can be carried out with the bot. The user only needs to conduct a dialogue with the bot, as he would with a real person.

How Can You Use a Chatbot in Your eLearning Process?

It’s high time to enter the core part of our article and consider the prominent use cases of chatbots and why you should implement Artificial Intelligence in eLearning processes.

Optimize Your eLearning Development Processes

The power of chatbots is enormous, and many educational institutions can use them to optimize their learning processes. For example, artificial intelligence in eLearning can help you process huge amounts of data and, based on analysis, select the most relevant and relevant topics for discussion. And this is just one of many examples of the application of this technology.

However, it is worth keeping in mind that algorithms will need some time to learn before they work at full capacity. Content analysis will also take time since you can’t just take and provide any content to train educational chatbots. It needs to be presented in the correct form, and only after that start teaching algorithms.

Adapt eLearning Process to Students’ Specific Needs

High personalization and the ability to adapt to the personal needs of students are the main strengths of chatbots for learning. At the moment, chatbots are equipped with natural speech recognition algorithms and machine learning algorithms. These technologies help them respond to user requests naturally and deliver personalized responses, content and change the tone of the conversation. However, these functions are available only to advanced chatbots. At the same time, more straightforward options can’t change their behavior on the fly and have several modes between which you can switch from the settings.

Provide Users With Personal Assistance

According to research, more than 64% of those surveyed said that the 24/7 availability of chatbots is their greatest strength. And this is not surprising because in schools, universities, and other educational institutions that do not work around the clock, chatbots are an excellent tool to answer the necessary questions quickly.

For example, if a teacher has a group of students, he may be bombarded with the same type of questions about the course itself, the teaching material, etc. Chatbots come to the rescue at such moments, freeing teachers from the routine task of informing each student.

In addition, chatbots in eLearning are competent enough to organize student life. For example, chatbots can notify about upcoming events (tests, seminars, and much more), about new assignments on the course, about the readiness of assignment checks, and much more. Thanks to chatbots, students will always feel supported and will always be aware of all the events.

Organize eLearning Process

The educational process organization is always a headache for any teacher: so many students and so little time to develop a smooth learning process. Artificial intelligence in eLearning can make this process much more manageable. It’s enough just to shift some routine tasks into the hands of chatbots controlled by artificial intelligence algorithms.

For example, suppose there are too many students in a group. In that case, it will be difficult for the teacher to provide everyone with additional learning materials based on the skills of each student. Chatbots can do this task faster because the algorithms will take less time to analyze each student’s success and deliver relevant material quicker and more accurately.

Also, chatbots can check some types of tests and give the results to the student immediately. Based on the results, the chatbot can either skip the student to the next module or indicate what mistakes the student made and fix them.

Virtual Tutoring

One of the most valuable uses of educational chatbots is the implementation of innovative automated learning. Such training can occur in the form of a regular chat but based on the educational material of the lecture. In addition, the chatbot can test students, ask questions, rate them, and more.

The well-known Duolingo platform introduced a similar training format. At its core, this platform harnesses the power of chatbots for online tutoring. The chatbot simulates an actual human native speaker to practice scenarios that users may encounter. It teaches students to apply their knowledge of the language in conversations on various topics, thereby improving language proficiency.

Chatbot Implementation Flow

Chatbots with artificial intelligence in eLearning chatbots are complex mechanisms, and integrating them into your educational process is a multi-step process for which you must be prepared. We will take a quick look at the implementation process to understand what your plan for implementing a chatbot should be.

• Step #1. Start with a thorough analysis. First, you should think about the significant bottlenecks for your eLearning process. List the problems and needs of all those involved in the process that requires immediate solutions. Knowing the issues will help you understand what features should be in your chatbot to fix these problems.

• Step #2. Find a professional development team. No matter how confident you are, the development and implementation of a chatbot can only be done by an experienced team of developers with the necessary skill stack. However, you should consult first about implementing a chatbot, and it is best to do so with experts in the field. They can analyze your idea, offer their solutions, and tell you what is possible to organize within the chatbot. For example, here at Raccoon Gang, we consult clients on implementing custom solutions in eLearning, and chatbots are no exception. We hold information-gathering meetings to find out all the client’s requirements and offer the best implementation option based on them.

• Step #3. Test your chatbot. Once your chatbot is developed and implemented into the system, it is worth starting testing it. The right decision would be to test on a narrow student audience. Give them free rein in testing and let them try out all the functionality. Take feedback, write down what users think works great and what needs additional polish. In addition, do not lose contact with the development team, as fixing bugs and finalizing the chatbot will require further development.

• Step #4. Implementation and assessment. After all the polish, it’s time to start the chatbot live. This operation does not take long for professionals, so you can immediately evaluate the chatbot’s effectiveness in natural conditions.

Wrapping Up

Chatbots with Artificial Intelligence in eLearning chatbots are the perfect choice to enhance student learning experiences and streamline the entire learning flow. By introducing chatbots, all training participants benefit. Students receive a personalized experience and 24/7 support, while teachers are freed from mundane tasks. You are armed with knowledge, and now it’s time to arm yourself with a professional team to incorporate this technology-savvy into your eLearning process.

Raccoon Gang is a skilled team of experts in the implementation of custom eLearning solutions for various industries. For our many years of experience, we have created more than a hundred projects to improve the learning process of many businesses and educational institutions. Our team is already waiting for your message, and we will be happy to discuss your project and find the best solution for its implementation.