A comparative study of human teacher and computer teacher

Abstract

This ongoing research project investigates learners' preferences and perceptions with regard to human and computer teachers. In this study, a human teacher is defined as the experienced, knowledgeable and patient teacher giving the traditional face to face lesson/lecture. The computer teacher is the educational computer software, multimedia and/or various learning resources on the Internet. Survey results and analysis have indicated that the majority of the respondents believe in the use of the latest computer technologies in education but they have a preference for a human teacher. This research also paves the way for further work and development in adopting the latest technologies in tablet computing in education. In particular, the more human-like interface features, offered by Apple’s iPad and other touch devices is being investigated for educational development.