Reference list Baskara, R 2023. “Chatbots and flipped learning: enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes through personalised support and collaboration”. International Journal of Recent Educational Research, 4(2), 223-238. Botsify https://botsify.com/chatbot-for-education. Harry, A 2023. “Role of AI in education”. Interdisciplinary Journal and Humanity, 2(3), 260-268. Ismail, M and Ade-Ibijola, M. 2019. “Lecturer’s apprentice: A chatbot for assisting novice programmers”. International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference (IMITEC). IEEE. Okonkwo, CW and Ade-Ibijola, A 2020.”Python-Bot: A chatbot for teaching Python programming”. Engineering Letters, 29(1), 25-34. Khan, A 2020. “Why is education industry opting for ai chatbots? How are they benefiting it?” https://botsify. com/blog/education-industry-chatbot/. Okonkwo, CW and Ade-Ibijola, A 2021. “Chatbots applications in education: A systematic review” Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 2,100033. Nee, CK, Rahman, MHA, Yahaya, N, Ibrahim, NH, Razak, RA and Sugino, C 2023. “Exploring the trend and potential distribution of chatbot in education: A systematic review” International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 13(3), 516-525. Schmulian, A and Coetzee, SA 2018. “The development of Messenger bots for teaching and learning and accounting students’ experience of the use thereof: The development of messenger bots for education” British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(1), 1-30. Tang, Y and Hew, KF 2022. “Effects of using mobile instant messaging on student behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement: A quasiexperimental study” Int J Educ Technol High Educ, 19(3), 1-22. Conclusion The use of the chatbot will add a larger strategic benefit to the teaching and learning process in the Law of Contract module. Not only is it the first of its kind in the Faculty of Law, but it also permits students to engage remotely and to foster inclusive learning practices on platforms familiar to them. Many of the physical constraints of learning can be overcome by implementing the chatbot in the Law of Contract module. LawBot provides the following specific benefits: • It allows for an “on-demand” teaching environment that is not constricted by office hours, lecture times or the availability of the lecturer and/or tutor. In fact, chatbots enable teaching and learning anytime and anywhere. • It has the potential of equalling the so-called playing field to allow for equal learning opportunities, that are supported on devices that are familiar and used by many students (e.g., a mobile phone that supports WhatsApp or a similar application). • It is designed to allow students to repeat engagements and interactions in the information cycle, which accommodates the individual student learning needs (Khan 2020; see also Nee et al 2023). • It can increase a student’s engagement and motivation in the learning process (Baskara 2023; Harry 2023). However, there are shortcomings in LawBot in terms of the limited content (or so-called knowledge base and language models) in relation to the Law of Contract module and secondly, in its limited interactions as compared to the sophistication of the natural language structures found in more advanced chatbots like ChatGPT. Further development of LawBot would be required to address these limitations. This notwithstanding, chatbots provide a unique opportunity to engage with students and are not limited to any module or field of discipline. Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2022 84
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