The use of animated agents in e-learning environments: an exploratory, interpretive case study

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e-learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e-learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges, including the multiple dialogue models that animated agents will need to accommodate, the diverse range of roles that pedagogical animated agents can usefully support, the dichotomous relationship that emerges between these roles and that of the lecturer, and student perception of the degree of autonomy that can be afforded to animated agents.

An embodied conversational agent coach to support societal participation learning by low-literate users

“…Cognitively, digital coaches in general can help learners reach stated learning goals: Bickmore et al's [16] health counsellor increased physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, and Veletsianos and Miller [104] show that learners deeply engage and converse with a digital coach, increasing learning. ECA digital coaches in particular can provide individualized learning support by using scaffolding to structure their verbal/textual feedback and by using multimodal media for support [63]. De Rosis et al [86] show that users converse with and learn from an ECA for health promotion with adaptive dialogue, and Miao et al [67] show that a scaffolding-based ECA coach is both technically feasible and accepted by learners.…”

Pedagogical agent for metacognitive scaffolding in interactive learning environments

“…They are designed to support learning and instruction in interactive learning environments in which learners can interact and have meaningful conversations [20], [21]; [22]. They can be used for many purposes including advising, tutoring, coaching, demonstrating, and modeling [23], [24] and as a learning companion or peer who encourages and motivates learners to put more effort into learning [25], [26]. Pedagogical agents are used in educational programs from preschool to university [27], [28].…”