Examining College Students' Adoption of Chatbots for Assignment Assistance: From Printed Pages to AI Interfaces

Abstract

This study compares college students' adoption of chatbots for assignment assistance with traditional printed books. Objectives include analysing usage patterns, exploring motivations, identifying challenges, examining preferences, and gathering recommendations for chatbot enhancements in academic settings. A robust questionnaire was developed iteratively, including self-evaluation and a pilot study. Data was collected from 573 college students through Google Forms, ensuring diverse representation across academic years and fields of study. While students rely on printed books for assignments moderately, they are more inclined toward chatbots. Key motivations include technological curiosity (62.1%), quick information access (85.3%), and dissatisfaction with traditional methods (64.6%). Challenges include inaccuracies in chatbot responses (86.9%) and conversational limitations (81.2%). There's a clear preference for chatbots in various academic aspects, scoring significantly higher in convenience, speed, and overall impact.