<![CDATA[The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education creates new opportunities to provide flexible academic support for students in distance education. However, independent learners still face difficulties in obtaining immediate clarification, contextual explanations, step-by-step guidance, and responsive feedback when studying outside scheduled lecturer interactions. The novelty of this study lies in developing a course-oriented AI-based chatbot as structured pedagogical support for independent learning across geographically distributed distance learners. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the chatbot in terms of validity, practicality, usability, and perceived support for independent learning. Educational Design Research (EDR) was employed through three phases: Analysis and Exploration, Design and Construction, and Evaluation and Reflection. The study involved 100 undergraduate students from four regional learning centers—Bandung, Purwokerto, Bogor, and Yogyakarta—with 25 students from each location, as well as three expert validators. Data were collected using needs-analysis questionnaires, expert-validation instruments, practicality and usability questionnaires, and independent-learning support questionnaires. The needs analysis showed strong demand for flexible access, contextual examples, immediate feedback, and guided learning support. Expert validation yielded an overall Aiken’s V coefficient of 0.90, indicating high validity. The chatbot achieved an overall practicality and usability score of 89%, with learning flexibility receiving the highest rating. Student responses across the four regional centers were relatively consistent. The findings indicate that the developed AI-based chatbot is valid, practical, and usable as structured support for independent learning in distance]]>
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