Hello,
First of all, thank you for creating such an interactive learning environment for learning about ChatBots. Beginning of this week, I knew almost nothing about ChatBots, but now I am quite comfortable with its functions.
From my point of view, I see great potential for usage of chatbots by admins. I have been spending the last couple of days talking with our Grade 12 students about their post-secondary schools and their program of interest. From just researching couple of universities and colleges, we have found out that some of the information regarding application was very confusing and difficult to find. This is where I think chatbots can be beneficial. Students who are aiming to enter a specific program at post-secondary level, they need to prepare the right documents, apply before deadline, check status and lots more. Students usually apply to more than one post-secondary schools and it can definitely become time consuming depending on how easy all these information is to access.
With chatbot, It would be nice to have students simply type commands like "When is the deadline for undergraduate application?", "What is the English requirement to apply to __________" or "Tuition for international students?". Once chatbots processes these questions, it can either tell them the answer, or send them to the right page with more information.
Great ideas for the use of ChatBots. Similarly, I think ChatBots could work well in the context of my college bridging program. Students are going on to a variety of different programs that have different requirements, start dates, etc. and they often have questions about these issues. They also have general questions about the bridging program that could be entered into the Chatbot. Towards the start and end of the session, the one front desk person can be very overwhelmed with long lines of students, who are generally waiting to ask simple questions regarding logistics, payments, etc. Students could be encouraged to check out the ChatBot with their questions first and if they need additional info could be directed to the front desk or to make an appointment with a human.
I really liked your idea @Heeweon Joo- I can relate it another situation which I faced last year when I was applying for my master's program at UBC and it so confusing to decide which program would be the right fit for my career as the Faculty of Education itself has many courses to offer. Sometime more options can be a bit confusing. This ChatBot could also help the students to pick the right course by providing them mini counselling or help them choose the courses offered by universities and colleges.
Very great idea @Heeweon Joo ! Considering this class has a business venture focus, imagine the first company to have this Chatbot that all students use to research schools, receive checklists and reminders, past admissions, etc. Would be pretty helpful! Especially if there was a translator function built in.
@Heeweon Joo, that's very true. I think of the International Students at our college and the steps they have to take to go through the process of renewing a visa or getting travel documents ... they spend a lot of time waiting to contact the right person for information when timing is crucial. A ChatBot here might also be very helpful, since the information could be accessed at any time of day or night and could help them flow through the process more smoothly.