Students Knowledge, Attitude And Practices Of AI In Education

AI (Artificial Language) is a transformative technology that is revolutionizing education by personalizing the learning experiences for students, instructors, and tutors. As one of the most sought-after technologies in today’s education system, AI is poised to significantly enhance educational practices globally. AI enables personalized learning experiences, creates smart content, broadens educational opportunities, and streamlines management and administration by tailoring information and data dissemination to the needs of specific target groups.

In the words of Marvin Minsky, the creator of artificial intelligence, AI is "the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by humans". AI has attracted a lot of attention lately and is frequently seen as the foundation of the fourth industrial revolution [Q. Waymel, 2019&A. Thurzo, 2023]. Its technological advancements have been integrated throughout a number of industries, such as manufacturing, cybersecurity, legal, and finance. With applications like Siri, software to recognize faces, and self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI) has ingrained itself into everyday life [D. Akiba, 2023 & Almaraz-Lopez, C. 2023]. The revolutionary influence of AI also has a significant impact on universities, which are essential for developing an informed and responsible society [Opesemowo, O.a.G, 2024].

These educational institutions need to adjust to the changing landscape brought about by this technology. To prepare students for the demands of the future labour market, AI training should be integrated into a wider range of academic programs, not just computer science[Almaraz- Mendez.F,2022]. Having students equipped with AI skills will help them succeed in their future careers. It is also important to understand how students view and engage with AI in order to ensure its successful integration into the educational system, whether as a subject of study, a teaching tool, or a resource to support students during their academic journey

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing in the field of education, playing a crucial part in enhancing university level learning process. (Garrido, 2012). It promotes customised and personalized learning experiences (Srinivasan & Chawla, 2017), provides assessment on student performance, and engaging more the instructional process. (Popenici & Kerr, 2017; Mason, Khan & Smith, 2016). AI also improves the efficiency of teaching by delivering information in an organised and logical manner (Hearst, 1994; Luger, 2009; Russell & Norvig, 2010)

AI presents valuable opportunity in the field of education by assisting teachers with instructional tasks (Zeide, 2019; Popenici & Kerr, 2017). Key AI functions in education include tutoring through individualized learning, task automation, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) and testing. AI enhances personalized learning by tailoring instruction to individual student needs and supports blended instruction, which combines technology with head to head communication. (Singhal,S 2019; Zawacki-Richter,O. et al., 2019). This approach aims to improve learning performance, reduce achievement gaps, and boost student independence, motivation, and participation in academic pursuits (Singhal,S. 2019; Lu & Harris, 2018; Woolf, 2015).

The developments and advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) for educational applications are promising and beneficial for instructional purposes. While AI can enhance knowledge transfer and improve teaching methods, it still faces significant challenges in character building, such as fostering pro-social behaviour, ethics, and morality, which require the personal touch of human educators (Zeide, 2019; Zhao & Liu, 2018)

Therefore, the main goal of this study are to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among university students of Assam in regards AI and look into the problems associated with AI.

2. Review of Literature

A research survey was conducted by Chaterjee and Bhattacharjee (2020) to find out the techniques that would help the stakeholders in order to adopt AI across India. The research was helpful in adapting various theories and models such as " Unified Theory of acceptance and use of Technology " (UTAUT). It was found that the attitude of the stakeholders was towards adapting AI was affected by the effort and risk of AI adaptation. Even though performance expectancy has limited affect as compared to other factors.

A systematic review was conducted by Chen et al (2020) which was comprehensive in nature regarding application of AI. It was revealed through this research that AI has immense impact on educational field in terms of increasing interest in education. The depth of learning in educational context is limited. Educational sector has used the National language process. It is also evident that the studies in terms of evaluation of AI technologies in the context of Education is limited.

Rahman,M. et al. (2022) conducted a research through in-depth interviews and questionnaire to explore the barriers and relevance of AI towards adapting AI in the Malaysia banking industry. Limited infrastructure, poor expertise, non- existence regulatory framework were main challenges of AI. The information and data collected through interview has subjective flaws that were not assessed by the researcher.

Bu.Q (2022) emphasized on the fundamental role of teachers in the process of application of AI in the context of education. It was found out through this study that of AI plays a crucial role in the educational context as it helps in the advancement of educational field. The educators and learners shout be used to and adaptive with the new environment of AI technologies for the advancement of educational field.

Zheng and Khalid (2022) emphasized on the adaption of enterprise resource planning and business intelligent systems. It was evident through this study that most of the companies used AI technologies for the advancement and growth of business. The small and medium enterprises of Asia are well aware about the crucial role of ERPBI in order to manage institution.

Hussain (2020) has identified and evaluate the attitude of students and teachers regarding the role of artificial intelligence. The researcher used survey method to collect data. The data was collected from 323 University students and 192 University Teachers by providing two questionnaires (one for students one for teachers) on five-point rating scale. The data was analysed through descriptive statistics i.e percentage. It was found that the attitude of teachers and students was positive towards the role of AI and its instructional role in education.

Huang et al. (2021) has fund out the use of AI in the educational field in terms teaching evaluation, virtual classroom and adaptive learning. This study has revealed that the use of AI is crucial in the educational field in terms of improving teachers 's teaching techniques and learners learning experience. At the end it revealed the barriers of AI in adapting AI in educational field.

Murat et al (2023) explored the AI from the point of view of online distance education. This study has followed a data mining process to collect data this study examines 276 publications. Accordingly, United States China and India are leading country to use online distance education and online learning.

Yadav et al (2024) explored the knowledge attitude and practice regarding the use of AI in dental academic curriculum among dental students of undergraduate and post graduate. Questionnaire based on cross section was distributed among 545 students of final year of undergraduate and postgraduate of dental students. This study found out the various knowledge and attitude of undergraduate and postgraduate students of dental academic regarding application of AI which were very posting in nature.

Kharroubi et al (2024) emphasized on find out the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAPs) of university students regarding application of AI. A questionnaire was distributed among 457 students between the age of 18 and above across Lebanon. Most of the students were aware about AI and its benefits and their knowledge was low to moderate regaining AI. The attitude regarding use of AI in educational field was quite positive as it was crucial for evaluation of teaching and learning experience

3. Objectives

1. To assess the knowledge of the students about AI
2. To study the attitude of students towards AI

Research Queries

1. Whether the level of knowledge of students towards AI is high?
2. Whether students have machine learning (sub-type AI) and deep learning (sub-type AI) knowledge?
3. Whether students have attended any workshop or elective course/training on AI, outside of their regular curriculum?
4. Whether students have faced any challenges on usage of AI tool in education?

4. Research Methodology:
   1. Size of Sample

The university students of Assam included in the study. According to the 2021 Report of the Ministry of Education, there were 500,874 college students in Assam. Using Yamane’s formula for sample size calculation, a total of 399 respondents was needed at 95% confidence interval (CI) with an error of 5%. For convenience, the sample size was adjusted to 400.

1. 2. Collection of Data

The link for conducting the survey was provided via various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Consent of the students was taken into consideration before conducting the survey. After they agreed to participate the process of survey was started (supplementary SI file) and this process took approximately 5 minutes. The privacy of the participants was taken into consideration as they were completely anonymous and voluntarily agreed to participate in the survey.

1. 3. Research Instrument

The objectives of the study were quite included in the questionnaire which was distributed among university students to test their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding AI technologies. The questionnaire was divided into five sections; the first section consists of questions related to participant's socio demographic characteristics including sex, age and Major. The second section consists of questions related to respondents' knowledge regarding AI. The third section contained respondents' attitude towards role of AI and implementing AI in educational field. The fourth section contained student’s application of AI during their university course. And fifth and final section emphasized on advantages and challenges in the implication of AI. A pilot study was also conducted in among 20 students in order to evaluate the effectiveness of curriculum, even though the data collected from collated from this phase was not included in the final result.

1. 4. Techniques of Data Interpretation

The data collected from the respondents was later converted into database through Ms Excel data sheet which were coded as per the questionnaire. As the aim of this study was to test the knowledge and attitude of students regarding Artificial intelligence, thus descriptive method

i.e percentage was used to analyse the data. Through frequency distribution and percentage, the table were well structured. The scale for from highest 05 to strongly agreed (SA)to lowest 01 strongly disagreed (SDA) were used while analysing the data.

5. Results

5.1 Socio-Demographic profile of Participants

Table one represents the socio - demographic profile of the participants. This indicated that half of the participants were between the age group of 18 to 20 years old. (50.25%) and 59.2% were women among them. Apparently two - third of the students were of students of bachelor degree. (61.75%). This study included students from various major background especially from health - related field (24.25%) and from engineering (20.5%). Moreover 52.5% students were had knowledge regarding AI through internet and social media, 17.5% from curriculum and 19.5 % knew about AI without having any specific source. Most of the students had moderate knowledge about AI 49.5% and 21.75% had high knowledge regarding AI and 28.75% had very less or low amount of knowledge regarding AI.

Source: Field Survey

Table-1 Demographic profile of participants (n = 400).

1. 2. Basic Knowledge on AI

Table two represents the basic knowledge of AI among university students. It is found that majority (96.3%) of respondents had knowledge about AI. 7% respondents had aware of AI chatbots, and a significant majority (82.7%) acknowledged that AI involves a substantial amount of labelled data to "learn." However, knowledge regarding subtypes of AI, 43.3% of the participants were only familiar with machine learning, and 32.7% knew about deep learning.

Source: Field Survey

Table2. Respondents basic knowledge on AI

1. 3. Students’ Attitude towards AI

Table three outlines attitude of respondents towards the application of AI in their academic year and later on in their academic paths. 50% (A+SA=27%+23%) of the students agreed that AI enhance personal learning experience. Respondents (48%) agreed that AI could reduce dependency on teachers in providing the educational content. More than half of the respondents (51.4%) agreed that AI make the difficult learning tasks through easy activities. It is also revealed that more than half of the respondents have positive attitude towards diversified learning style and provide 24/7 services to solve student’s problem.

Source: Field Survey.

Table 3. Statements on attitude of respondents towards AI.

5.4.      AI Practices

Table four provides an overview of AI-related practices among respondents. It is only 17.3% of the students have attended an internship or workshop related to AI. Even fewer, just 8.7%, are members of an AI club at their university. Additionally, 18.3% of the students have taken elective courses or workshops focused on AI besides their regular course. Despite these lower engagement rates, a significant 76.3% of students have utilized AI technologies or applications, such as ChatGPT, during their course at university. Notably, 89.5% of these students reported that AI has made their tasks easier. About 66.5% have supported to use AI in their respective field.

Source: Field Survey

Table- 4. Questions associated with AI practices among respondents

5.5.      Challenges of AI

Table-5 summarise the challenges of using AI among the students. It is observed that 47.1% of respondents agreed the issue of security and data privacy on using artificial intelligence(AI). More than half of the percentage agreed that AI provides bias and discrimination in algorithim.56.5% of the respondents have agreed that AI in education leads to missing traditional educational jobs. And 54.7% respondents have agreed that due to use of AI, decreases the creativity and critical thinking skills among the students.

Source: Field Survey.

Table-5. Questions related to Challenges of usages of AI