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Online chat and chatbots to enhance mature student engagement in higher education
Open accessAbstract
Mature students transitioning into their first year of higher education face many difficulties that affect their motivation, participation and success. Their feelings of being disconnected from their peers and from their institutions are among the key barriers to the successful completion of their courses. Encouraging online student engagement among mature students to establish social connection with their instructors and peers can reduce their isolation and enhance their ‘sense of belonging’. During the academic year 2020/2021, the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC) at the University of Leeds in the UK, decided to pilot an online chat platform ‘Differ’ including a chatbot ‘Bo’ after it had seen a decline in the use of programme Facebook groups. To promote student engagement and monitor the Differ online communities, sixteen digital student mentors were recruited and trained. During the pilot, feedback was collected from students and student mentors. A mixed-methods approach was adopted to boost robustness through triangulation. Several forms of data collection methods were used: a mentimeter, an online survey, three focus group sessions and a semi-structured interview. This study sheds light on the different aspects of creating student-led online communities and provides recommendations on how to improve the uptake of students in the future.
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Metadata
- Authors
- Abbas, N., Whitfield, J., Atwell, E., Bowman, H., Pickard, T., & Walker, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Atwell, Eric
- Venue
- International Journal of Lifelong Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-05-04
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 308-326
- ISSN
- 0260-1370 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-519X
- OpenAlex
- W4281696081
- Cited by
- 116
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 54.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Lifelong Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- SHURA (Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive) (Sheffield Hallam University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- work was supported
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Online and Blended Learning
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Practises and Engagement
- Keywords
- adult learners, student engagement, online chat, chatbots, sense of belonging, student isolation, social connectedness, Facebook groups, lifelong learning centers
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