Grant Recipients
Zille Huma Kamal, Department of Computer Science
Mike Cooper-Stachowsky, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project timeline (May 2024 - April 2025)
Description
- This project is a course-aligned virtual teaching assistant (VTA) that uses AI technology to act as teaching assistant (TA) and tutor.
- In Fall 2023, we ran a pilot project where students engaged with an AI-based VTA, Oliver. It responds to student questions with answers based on scope of the course and provides assistance for assignments and projects.
- However, Oliver lacks conversational memory and prompts. We propose to include these in Mycroft, an extension of Oliver.
Project Objectives
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Easily accessible and interactive mentoring: Opportunity to interact with a Virtual Teaching Assistant (VTA) at any time increases availability and accessibility for course support.
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Consistent and convenient practicing of course concepts through information retrieval and immediate and constructive feedback: Students use Mycroft to test and challenge themselves, making connections to previously learnt materials and create long-term semantic or implicit memories that are often tested in exams.
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The impact of VTA on teaching and classrooms: The increased ease and accessibility of help, along with engagement with course content can improve the classroom experience for our staff and students alike.