Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Distance Education – Students Perceptions

Technology development has brought many changes in the educational sector; among them are those related to distance education. Although established centuries ago, the need for this form of education was particularly pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, different types of tools and techniques have been developed and improved to support the interaction between teachers and their students. Some of those platforms are based on the implementation of artificial intelligence technology. As the most common application based on AI, intelligent tutoring systems provide students with an adjusted and personalized approach to learning. To introduce these systems in education, it is necessary to investigate the perceptions of their main clients, i.e., students. Accordingly, the paper examines the levels of mentioned perceptions, taking into account students' gender and AI anxiety. For this purpose, we applied an online questionnaire. The research was conducted on a convenience sample of 285 students. After testing the scales' reliability and validity, independent samples t-test and Pearson correlation were used. The results pointed to the existence of relatively positive perceptions towards the intelligent tutoring systems. In addition, no significant difference in students' perceptions regarding ITS from the aspect of gender, nor a significant relationship between those perceptions and AI anxiety was found.