Profesör YZ ile öğretimin yeni çaği

Traditional teaching methods are evolving with Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements. Higher education institutions (HEIs) must understand the students' acceptance of such technology to implement it successfully. This study aims to understand how students approach these new technologies and what the drivers are to determine the acceptance of AI-based tools usage in HEIs. We followed an empirical approach to assess the student acceptance. We used AI-equipped tools to prepare instructional materials, and generated course content in the form of an avatar teacher, then introduced the avatar teacher to the students in an in-class experiment. In the experiment, the avatar teacher lectured the students through AI-generated content. Afterward, a shared questionnaire with students helped evaluating how they approach the AI-based learning experience. Our analyses reveal that Performance Expectancy and Trust positively influence the Attitude of students with a strong mediating effect of Attitude on developing Behavioral Intention. At the same time, Social Influence is another strong indicator of developing Behavioral Intention. The findings indicate that students generally have a favorable view of Professor AI based on precise and reliable content delivery. At the same time, the non-human characteristics of the avatar and lack of interactivity set a drawback to student approval and highlight the improvement areas. Our study presents insights into AI-driven learning experiences and contributes to the literature on students' acceptance of AI in HEIs. The conclusions of this study serve as a roadmap for educators, developers, and policymakers who want to use AI tools in HEIs.