Getting an immediate reply to any question is always the best solution. And to a student, it is just the icing on the cake. That is why prompt or instant messaging apps and chatbots are used in many online courses.
This helps the students and promotes healthy learning by providing an instant solution to the problems. Chatbots are advanced technology widely used in the virtual classroom for their incredible user experience.
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The technical support provided by these instant messaging apps and chatbots is helping the students both within and outside their classroom, answering all their queries in a much lesser time. They can also provide some extra learning possibilities enhancing the learner’s academia.
In this blog, I’ll highlight some of the best uses of instant messaging apps and chatbots for effective learning in the classroom. They are as follows:
1. Providing valuable feedback.
Learner feedback is one of the most important things for a practical user experience. It enhances the teacher’s approach for solving the problems and serves students’ needs. However, it becomes quite tiring to send each student the questionnaire individually and ask for feedback. Thus, to avoid this step, instant messaging apps and chatbots came as a rescue, which saved the time of the teachers and the student with accurate questions. And secondly, it is seen that when a student is answered physically for the reviews, they might not respond with complete honesty as they may feel afraid or due to social pressure. So providing feedback to the apps and chatbots help them answer with total freedom without any stress. The chatbots follow a conversational format to receive feedback. Chatbots surveys are easily reachable to each student. They can be sent by email, or their link could be shared directly in the ongoing classroom, and the student may answer at their ease.
2. Providing teaching aid.
Valuable teaching aid is readily provided to the students in the classroom. There are situations where the student cannot understand certain things in between the class to type their query in the chatbots, and the answer is provided right away. For instance, a student didn’t understand any term or formula in the virtual classroom, so to maintain the flow of learning, they can take the help of the chatbots. And if the query does still not resolve, the chatbots usually send it to the concerned teachers then they are answered accordingly. Chatbots are now using the; latest technology of AI to answer the natural language, even the most complicated problems. Sometimes the answers provided by the chatbots are so accurate and perfect that you may not identify whether they are answered by a human or an AI.
It also serves the student’s needs after the class is over also. If students require any help in their homework, they can easily take the assistance of the chatbots. This saves time for the student as they don’t have to log in and search for their query but quickly type it in the chatbot, and an instant result is obtained.
3. Chatbots in the form of a campus guide.
Getting assistance in campus guidance can sometimes be a problem because you don’t know the right destination and the right person to seek advice from. Again chatbots come as a rescue by gathering the information from all over and presenting it in front of you in an organized way. A student can ask anything from asking where to submit the assignments to which department is where, in the campus, all the queries can be resolved quickly. A student can also search for different services on the campus without even sharing their problems with any person. They are convenient and straightforward to use, saving both energy and time.
4. Provide auto generated quizzes and exercises.
Instant messaging apps and chatbots are essential learning tools also. They provide immediate study materials for the students and some quizzes or exercises to test their knowledge. A student no longer needs to search for different sites for extra study materials. They are fast as logging on to any site via mobile can take a longer duration, while chatbots or messaging apps provide instant results. They even work fast when the connection is poor also.
5. Provides constant support to the students.
The student often needs support after the class is over. It is not possible that a teacher may be present 24/7 to answer the student’s queries, so chatbots and instant messaging apps act like teaching assistants to them. They respond and try to solve as much as possible and note what is to be said to the teachers about the complex problems. In this way, the teachers are also aware of the complexities and will discuss things in the next class. This constant support helps the students increase their retention power and perception of online learning.
6. Promotes group discussions.
Instant messaging and chatbots let the students be connected simultaneously, thus promoting group discussions. Group discussions make the students more productive, creating a positive atmosphere. Instant messaging apps and chatbots allow group quizzes and other exercises letting groups of students solve simultaneously. It gives a fertile environment for dedicated students to have study-related discussions. It is free from all distractions as the content is free from all the social media interactions.
7. Promotes time management.
Managing time sometimes becomes difficult for the students. Chatbots and instant messaging apps act like organizing tools scheduling all the events in the desired way. These chatbots manage everything from class timing to holding group discussions or attending academic events. It reminds the students of all the deadlines for submitting assignments and important dates for tests or exams. A student can also set reminders as per their needs.
Conclusion
Chatbots and instant messaging apps are tools during any crisis and in the future, promoting effective online learning. Many teachers and students are using this technology for a great user experience.
Photo by Roman Pohorecki from Pexels.
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