Is there a resource for that? The development of a chatbot to provide school librarian professional development

Smith, Daniella; Kaz-Onyeakazi, Ijay; Oladapo, Lydia

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/123053 Copy

Description

Title

Is there a resource for that? The development of a chatbot to provide school librarian professional development

Author(s)

• Smith, Daniella
• Kaz-Onyeakazi, Ijay
• Oladapo, Lydia

Issue Date

2023-09

Keyword(s)

• Artificial Intelligence
• Chatbot
• Education
• Natural Language Processing
• Professional Development
• School Librarians

Abstract

Chatbots have become integral parts of society, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can automate everyday tasks. This presentation describes the development of a pilot chatbot designed to provide school librarians with professional development. The first iteration of the chatbot was built using the ChatterBot Python library. It generates responses included in a question bank and utilizes Natural Language Processing, which allows it to learn through interaction. Questions are collected in chat logs and used to train updates. The second iteration of the chatbot was built using Python and OpenAI. It also incorporates responses from the original question bank. The preliminary chatbot responses originated from questions asked by school librarians who needed assistance with developing programming for English Learners (ELs). An IMLS funded (RE-250111-OLS-21) national forum was implemented to determine how to develop services for ELs. Suggestions from the forum participants were then coded and used to develop examples of queries for the chatbot. Many responses are linked to credible internet resources. Later, additional questions were collected from pre-service school librarians. Students also volunteered to locate online resources and references to answer questions. These questions and resources were reviewed before using them for the chatbot. Based on current feedback, it has been determined that the chatbot is a cost-effective way to provide educators with on-demand professional development. Because the questions and resources in the chatbot are not all-inclusive, it serves as a way for the researchers to collect additional questions and identify new ways to serve the needs of school librarians.

Series/Report Name or Number

Proceedings of the ALISE Annual Conference, 2023

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/123053

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21900/j.alise.2023.1373

Copyright and License Information

• Copyright 2023 Daniella Smith, Ijay Kaz-Onyeakazi, Lydia Oladapo
• This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

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