FAQ chatbot and inclusive learning in massive open online courses

Recognizing the research gap involving the lack of equity considerations in new technology implementation, this study compares students' learning experiences when using an FAQ chatbot with using an FAQ webpage. We trained a natural language processing–based chatbot utilizing content from an FAQ webpage and deployed it in two journalism massive open online courses (MOOCs) with 46 students and compared their experiences with 74 students' experiences with the FAQ webpage as a baseline. There were equal numbers of male and female students, their ages ranged from 18 to 65+, and they hailed from 45 unique countries. Considering the importance of supporting students with an inclusive Q&A experience before implementing any new technology into real-world operation, this study investigates students' disparate Q&A experiences by measuring their intention to use the interface as well as perceived Q&A service quality, enjoyment, and barriers utilizing a between-subjects online experiment. The results indicate that the students preferred an FAQ webpage over an FAQ chatbot, and the chatbot users experienced a higher magnitude of barriers compared to the webpage users. For the chatbot users, we found that region and native language factors influenced their Q&A experiences significantly. We discussed the meaning of the students’ disparate experiences from multiple perspectives—namely, human-computer interaction, MOOC context, and technologies as social practice aspects. Lastly, we determined how feasible it is to provide an inclusive learning experience for the MOOC population with the FAQ chatbot, based on the contextualized meaning of MOOC inclusiveness in current literature. This study suggests multi-faceted aspects to consider when adopting new technologies in MOOCs to provide an inclusive learning experience, and underscores the need for more active research in chatbot use to serve diverse student needs in MOOCs.