An Examination of Studies on the Use of Chatbot Technology in the Field of Education
Hatice Yıldız Durak, Aytuğ Onan
Abstract
Today, it is observed that technologies are rapidly advancing and being utilized in educational environments. Among these technologies, chatbots, which have gained significant popularity with ChatGPT, play a crucial role in enhancing learning experiences. Chatbots offer numerous opportunities to support learning performance, increase engagement, and provide extracurricular feedback and assistance to students. These chatbots are capable of interacting with users in a natural language format, enabling seamless communication. They are designed to follow predefined patterns, answer questions, and provide guidance within their defined scope. This article aims to examine the existing research on the utilization of chatbots in educational environments to shed light on the significance of their implementation. To achieve this objective, 19 articles and papers related to the field were analyzed using Google Scholar, incorporating keywords such as 'chatbot+education' and 'chatbot in education'. The articles and papers were subjected to a descriptive analysis, covering sections such as the subject, purpose, methodology, results, discussion, and recommendations. Based on the review, it was observed that many studies focused on the usability and product design of chatbots in education. The samples used in these studies predominantly comprised university-level participants, with limited applications targeting larger student populations. It is anticipated that the data and results presented in this study will serve as a guide to identify existing applications and research gaps in the utilization of chatbots in education.