Business Matters

When future introduction-to-finance students hop on their laptops for personalized tutoring, they might thank Jonathon Kalodimos and John Zontos. Kalodimos, an associate professor of finance in the College of Business, is working with Zontos, an OSU master’s student in Computer Science, to create an AI-based educational assistant tailored to each student’s specific needs.

The assistant, called FinanceTutor.ai, leverages the power of AI to advance learning with content structured by Kalodimos’ educational goals and objectives. Even as a prototype, it’s drawing praise from students and generating interest from faculty.

In early 2024, Kalodimos created the assistant for Introduction to Finance (BA240 and BA360). He uploaded portions of the textbook into an Open AI chatbot and made it freely available through the Ecampus course last fall.

When students pose questions, the chatbot can help students sort out areas of confusion, test them on their knowledge, and, if necessary, issue prompts to review specific lessons. FinanceTutor uses language that mirrors class lectures and the textbook and thus reinforces Kalodimos’ educational strategy. Students can also use the chatbot to make their own study guide.

For example, a finance topic that students often struggle with is the Capital Assets Pricing Model, or CAPM, which focuses on stock market returns. With his learning objectives in mind, Kalodimos has tailored the tutor to reinforce the model’s concepts. “The chatbot focuses on those learning objectives. The language around CAPM is consistent with what I’m teaching in class,” he said.

“Getting real time feedback is how we learn. It’s like having my dad sit next to me at the kitchen table helping me with my algebra when I was in fourth grade. Replicating that experience for each student would be my dream world.”

While the technology isn’t well enough developed to make that quite possible yet, Kalodimos is confident it will happen. “I want to work towards that goal,” he said.

Zontos shares Kalodimos’ ambition. He has taught computer science to high school students and is working toward an MS in Artificial Intelligence. Last fall, he applied to work with Kalodimos for a capstone course. One of his first tasks was to revise the software coding and change the process for retrieving information from the textbook. He and Kalodimos also reviewed AI chatbot options to identify the platform with the best performance.

“We wanted to simulate what the experience of going to a really good tutor would be like, so we brainstormed qualities of a good tutor. If you were to hire a tutor, what would you want them to do besides just give you the answers?” said Zontos.

This winter, Zontos is adding links to YouTube videos that cover material relevant to students’ needs. “If students ask about a certain concept, we’ll give them the text answer, but if it’s applicable, we’ll also add a video that they can watch or maybe listen to someone talk about that concept in detail,” Zontos added.

Kalodimos has shared his work on FinanceTutor.ai with colleagues at OSU and elsewhere. “This is a natural evolution of self-directed learning,” he said.

Students have reacted positively. “Students have popped by my office or, if they’ve seen it in the hallway, have told me the tool is fantastic. I’ve also received emails out of the blue telling me it’s given them more confidence in the material.”

Although FinanceTutor is still in development, friends at other universities have experimented with it. OSU colleagues have told Kalodimos they have interest in using it in their classes as well. “First we need to get it working at what I’ll call a production level, where it’s not just for individual classes,” Kalodimos said.

Kalodimos is integrating FinanceTutor into a network of other AI-enabled educational tools. “Many challenges remain, but the benefits of personalized education are worth the effort.”

He envisions a future where these tools complement existing on-campus, hybrid, and Ecampus resources. “By leveraging AI, this new approach aims to create a more adaptive and individualized learning experience,” he said.