AUTHOR=Wollny Sebastian , Schneider Jan , Di Mitri Daniele , Weidlich Joshua , Rittberger Marc , Drachsler Hendrik TITLE=Are We There Yet? - A Systematic Literature Review on Chatbots in Education JOURNAL=Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence VOLUME=4 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence/articles/10.3389/frai.2021.654924 DOI=10.3389/frai.2021.654924 ISSN=2624-8212 ABSTRACT=

Chatbots are a promising technology with the potential to enhance workplaces and everyday life. In terms of scalability and accessibility, they also offer unique possibilities as communication and information tools for digital learning. In this paper, we present a systematic literature review investigating the areas of education where chatbots have already been applied, explore the pedagogical roles of chatbots, the use of chatbots for mentoring purposes, and their potential to personalize education. We conducted a preliminary analysis of 2,678 publications to perform this literature review, which allowed us to identify 74 relevant publications for chatbots’ application in education. Through this, we address five research questions that, together, allow us to explore the current state-of-the-art of this educational technology. We conclude our systematic review by pointing to three main research challenges: 1) Aligning chatbot evaluations with implementation objectives, 2) Exploring the potential of chatbots for mentoring students, and 3) Exploring and leveraging adaptation capabilities of chatbots. For all three challenges, we discuss opportunities for future research.