Abstract

Student engagement is a persistent challenge in online engineering education. This study investigates the impact of microlearning delivered through an educational chatbot on motivation and academic performance in advanced Computer Engineering Course. A quasi-experimental design was employed with two parallel groups (n=74): the experimental group received ten focused microlearning capsules via chatbot, while the control group accessed equivalent content through standard video lectures. Motivation was measured using the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS), and knowledge acquisition was assessed through a ten-item test. Results from independent simples t-tests showed significantly higher intrinsic motivation and self-determination index (SDI) scores in the chatbot group, along with superior test performance. These findings suggest that microlearning can effectively improve academic outcomes and Foster sustained Student engagement. The proposed approach offers a scalable and cost-efficient strategy for online and hybrid engineering education. © 2025 IEEE.