Chatbot-supported Thesis Writing: An Autoethnographic Report

The release of the large language model based chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022 has brought considerable attention to the subject of artificial intelligence, not only in the public. From the perspective of higher education, ChatGPT challenges various learning and assessment formats as it significantly reduces the effectiveness of their learning and assessment functionalities. In particular, ChatGPT might be applied to formats that require learners to generate text, such as bachelor theses or student research papers. Accordingly, the research question arises to what extent writing of bachelor theses is still a valid learning and assessment format. Correspondingly, in this study, the first author was asked to write his bachelor's thesis exploiting ChatGPT. For tracing the impact of ChatGPT, methodically an autoethnographic approach was used. First, all considerations on the potential use of ChatGPT were documented in logs and secondly, all ChatGPT chats were logged. Both logs and chat histories were analyzed and are presented along to the recommendations for students regarding the use of ChatGPT suggested by Gimpel et al. (2023). In conclusion, ChatGPT is beneficial in thesis writing during various activities, such as brainstorming, structuring and text revision. However, there arise limitations, e.g., in referencing. Thus, ChatGPT requires a continuous validation of the outcomes generated fostering learning. Currently, ChatGPT is to be valued as a beneficial tool in thesis writing. However, writing a conclusive thesis still requires the learner's meaningful engagement. Accordingly, writing a thesis is still a valid learning and assessment format. With further releases of ChatGPT, an increase in capabilities is to be expected and the research question needs to be reevaluated from time to time.Comment: 26 page

Perceived Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Educational Leadership\u27s Decision-Making, Teaching, and Learning Outcomes: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand and describe the perceived influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on educational leadership\u27s decision-making, teaching, and learning outcomes as revealed by educational leaders at a group of secondary public schools in the Middle East. The theory guiding this study was the distributed cognition theory, as it shows the dynamics of human cognition and AI cognition, making it possible to understand the perceived influence of AI. As the study reflected on AI’s past, present and, future, the central question that focused on this study is: How do educational leaders perceive the influence of AI on educational leadership decision-making, teaching, and learning outcomes? To establish how educational leaders perceive the influence of AI on educational leadership decision-making, teaching, and learning outcomes, a transcendental phenomenological approach was used to study the perceptions of educational leaders at a group of schools located in the Middle East. Transcribed individual interviews, focus group interviews, and a survey comprising 15 participants was conducted to collect data describing the perceptions of educational leaders. As the study reflected on AI\u27s past, present, and future, it used a descriptive analysis underpinned by reduction, imaginative variation, and textual descriptions to show the perceptions of educational leaders about AI\u27s on educational leadership\u27s decision-making, teaching, and learning outcomes. There were four themes that emerged during data analysis: Critical thinking, decision-making, ethical concenrs, and grading and feedback. Emerging themes were analyzed using NVivo data analysis software. Overall, educational leaders perceived that AI would play a crucial role in the educational environment, impacting both themselves and the students

State of the art and practice in AI in education

Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have generated great expectations for the future impact of AI in education and learning (AIED). Often these expectations have been based on misunderstanding current technical possibilities, lack of knowledge about state-of-the-art AI in education, and exceedingly narrow views on the functions of education in society. In this article, we provide a review of existing AI systems in education and their pedagogic and educational assumptions. We develop a typology of AIED systems and describe different ways of using AI in education and learning, show how these are grounded in different interpretations of what AI and education is or could be, and discuss some potential roadblocks on the AIED highway

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Evolution of Digital Education: A Comparative Study of OpenAI Text Generation Tools including ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Ernie

In the digital era, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has ushered in transformative changes, redefining teaching methodologies, curriculum planning, and student engagement. This review paper delves deep into the rapidly evolving landscape of digital education by contrasting the capabilities and impact of OpenAI's pioneering text generation tools like Bing Chat, Bard, Ernie with a keen focus on the novel ChatGPT. Grounded in a typology that views education through the lenses of system, process, and result, the paper navigates the multifaceted applications of AI. From decentralizing global education and personalizing curriculums to digitally documenting competence-based outcomes, AI stands at the forefront of educational modernization. Highlighting ChatGPT's meteoric rise to one million users in just five days, the study underscores its role in democratizing education, fostering autodidacticism, and magnifying student engagement. However, with such transformative power comes the potential for misuse, as text-generation tools can inadvertently challenge academic integrity. By juxtaposing the promise and pitfalls of AI in education, this paper advocates for a harmonized synergy between AI tools and the educational community, emphasizing the urgent need for ethical guidelines, pedagogical adaptations, and strategic collaborations

Visualizing the Academic Library of the Future Based on Collections, Spaces, Technologies, and Services

This paper analyzed the literature on collection development, space planning, futuristic technologies, and information services related to academic libraries. The content analysis method was applied to review these papers. The selected papers for review have the potential to influence the future of academic libraries. This review of the related studies shows that the academic library has evolved into a hybrid model, combining traditional collections and a modern, sophisticated knowledge warehouse. It is predicted that the future library will be a place for aesthetic, emotion-rich social centers and will act as a knowledge refinery. Developing innovative technologies and services and improving the skills of library staff are significant challenges for the future. This study has designed a new conceptual framework in this area, identifying the possible scenarios for future academic libraries

Perspectiva de Profesores de Inglés Acerca del Impacto de la Inteligencia Artificial en los Cursos de Idiomas

The present study explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on language learning in high-education level courses from the perspective of English teachers. The researchers used a Likert scale questionnaire survey to collect data on teachers' perspectives on integrating AI in english courses. The survey results revealed that while many educators display optimism regarding AI's potential for personalized feedback, concerns about its ethical implications and job displacement are also evident. The literature review identified several research gaps, including comprehensive insights into English teachers' perceptions, limited exploration of ethical considerations, and the need for contextual comparative analyses. The study's research design and methodology drew upon a quantitative research approach, which allowed for an overview of the impact of AI in language courses. The researchers collected data on prevalent trends and patterns in teachers' viewpoints regarding the integration of AI in language courses. This study highlights the complexity of teachers' perceptions and their multifaceted considerations when embracing AI tools in language education. Further research is needed to explore English teachers' perceptions in the Ecuadorian educational field context, delve into ethical considerations, investigate behavioral intention, conduct comparative studies, and examine the impact of specific AI applications in language teaching and learning.Este estudio aborda el impacto de la inteligencia artificial (IA) en la instrucción de idiomas en educación superior, desde la perspectiva de profesores de inglés. Se llevó a cabo una encuesta utilizando un cuestionario en escala Likert para recopilar datos sobre las percepciones docentes acerca de la integración de la IA en los cursos de inglés. Los resultados revelan que, si bien muchos educadores son optimistas acerca del potencial de la IA, también surgen inquietudes éticas. La revisión bibliográfica señala brechas de investigación, incluyendo la necesidad de comprender a fondo las percepciones de profesores de inglés y de realizar análisis contextuales comparativos. La metodología adoptada es cuantitativa, proporcionando una visión general del impacto de la IA en los cursos de idiomas. Se recopilaron datos acerca de los patrones predominantes en las perspectivas de docentes sobre la integración de la IA en la instrucción de idiomas. Tanto la revisión bibliográfica como los resultados resaltan la necesidad de investigar las percepciones de profesores de inglés en el contexto educativo ecuatoriano, profundizar en dilemas éticos, explorar intenciones de comportamiento, llevar a cabo análisis comparativos y evaluar el efecto de aplicaciones específicas de IA en la enseñanza y aprendizaje de idiomas

Exploring the public's beliefs, emotions and sentiments towards the adoption of the metaverse in education: A qualitative inquiry using big data

The metaverse is rapidly reshaping our understanding of education, yet identifying the public's beliefs, emotions and sentiments towards its adoption in education remains largely uncharted empirically. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Digital Diffusion Theory (DOI), this paper aims to fill this gap using a big-data approach and machine learning to scrape comments made by social media users on recent popular posts or videos related to adopting the metaverse in education from three prominent social media platforms. The cleaning process narrowed down 11,024 comments to 4277, then analysed them using thematic, emotion and sentiment analysis techniques. The thematic analysis revealed that adopting the metaverse in education evokes a complex range of public beliefs: (1) innovative learning methods; (2) accessibility and inclusion; (3) concerns about quality and effectiveness; (4) technological challenges and the digital divide; (5) the future of work and skills; and (6) privacy and security concerns. Integrating these themes with emotion and sentiment analyses reveals a landscape of a significant portion of neutral sentiments that corroborates enthusiasm attenuated by caution. This careful consideration stresses the urgent need for a balanced approach to adopting the metaverse in education to ensure that resulting educational advancements benefit all learners equitably. As one of the first studies to offer a multidimensional view of the public's beliefs about metaverse education using big data, this research not only contributes to TAM and DOI but also provides critical insights that could inform policy, enhance educational practices and guide future scholarship in this emerging field