I’m a Chatbot, Ask Me Anything: Designing Interactive Learning Experiences with AI Tools.

Dr Pauldy Otermans; Dr Stephanie Baines; Dr Beverley Pickard-Jones; Sarah Thomson

Brunel University London and Bangor University

The aim of our project is to explore whether AI technologies can aid learning by offering more effective and dynamic ways for students to interact with the learning material provided by lecturers. Providing one-on-one support to large cohorts is challenging, yet emerging AI technologies show promise in bridging the gap between the support students want and what educators can provide and offer students a way to engage with their course material in a way that feels fluent and instinctive. A survey has been conducted UK wide to assess how students at all levels of study currently perceive and use AI tools, their impressions of its importance to their future careers, and their awareness of AI policies within their universities. Preliminary results show a mixed bag of responses in terms of students’ familiarity with the tools and what they believe the AI tools could and should not be used for. Those students who indicated they heard about AI tools had mainly used ChatGPT. Most students expressed the opinion that it was important to know and understand how the AI tools work and could be used both in their studies and their future careers. The results also indicated that students have a thirst to know more about AI tools and their applications. Therefore, programmes might consider including dedicated teaching sessions to facilitate this. This innovative research on pedagogical methods therefore supports a broader long-term ambition to better understand and improve our teaching, learning, and student engagement through the adoption of AI and the effective use of technology.