Lecturer's Apprentice: A Chatbot for Assisting Novice Programmers

Mohammed Ismail, Abejide Ade-Ibijola

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Students often struggle to communicate with their peers or lecturers about some of the issues they face during their time at university, either it be academic or personal. One of these issues is introductory programming, in instances were they choose to memorise code in order to pass rather than understanding how the logic behind the code actually works. Programming requires an understanding of how a certain logical flows and algorithm work. In this article, we discuss the difficulties that students face in introductory programming. We have also developed an interactive AI chatbot tool that students can interact with on some of the academic issues they may face. They can ask for advice on how to understand algorithms and what measures to take in order to understand programming logic and visualise metal models of the algorithms. The chatbot can also be used for personal advice. A survey that was conducted showed that there is a need for such a tool in aiding students through their university life.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2019 International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference, IMITEC 2019
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781728100401
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2019
Event2019 International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference, IMITEC 2019 - Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Duration: 21 Nov 201922 Nov 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings - 2019 International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference, IMITEC 2019

Conference

Conference2019 International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference, IMITEC 2019
Country/TerritorySouth Africa
CityVanderbijlpark
Period21/11/1922/11/19

Keywords

  • Advisory
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Chatbot
  • Novice Programmers
  • Struggling Students

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Information Systems
  • Signal Processing
  • Software

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