The FAQ Robot - Managing Large-class E-mail Correspondence

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Abstract

In classes with a large number of students the number of e-mail requests from students can be quite large at times. For example, when a new project has been published students often have questions regarding specific details and ambiguous aspects of the project specification. Often these queries can be classified into a specific set of categories, for example questions regarding the formatting of the project report or clarification of weakly stated problem parameters.

In this project we have experimented with document classification technology and developed a tool for automatically classifying student questions in the form of short e-mail messages and pseudo-automatically responding to these requests.

This paper describes the problems associated with e-mail correspondence when teaching large classes and how we designed the FAQ (frequently asked questions) robot to assist in reducing these problems. Further, preliminary experimental evaluations on how well the tool manages to classify and respond to incoming requests are provided.

Our findings point in the direction that one cannot completely rely on a totally automatic tool for sorting and responding to incoming e-mail from students. However, document classification technology and the FAQ robot provides a useful companion that can help the teacher quickly get an overview of the class situation and more rapidly help and guide students in the right direction.

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