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A Look at the Roles of Look & Roles in Embodied Pedagogical Agents - A User Preference Perspective

Haake, Magnus LU and Gulz, Agneta LU (2009) In International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 19(1).
Abstract
. The paper presents a theoretical framework addressing three aspects of embodied pedagogical agents: visual static appearance, pedagogical role, and communicative style. The framework is then applied to a user study where 90 school children (age 12 15) in a dummy multimedia program were presented with either an instructor or a learning companion condition. They were then to choose between eight visually different embodied pedagogical agents: four more naturalistic (detailed & 3D-rendered) and four more stylized (simplified & cartoonish). Finally the participants were to choose between a strictly task-oriented versus a task- and relation-oriented pedagogical agent.

The goal of the study was to explore possible relations... (More)
. The paper presents a theoretical framework addressing three aspects of embodied pedagogical agents: visual static appearance, pedagogical role, and communicative style. The framework is then applied to a user study where 90 school children (age 12 15) in a dummy multimedia program were presented with either an instructor or a learning companion condition. They were then to choose between eight visually different embodied pedagogical agents: four more naturalistic (detailed & 3D-rendered) and four more stylized (simplified & cartoonish). Finally the participants were to choose between a strictly task-oriented versus a task- and relation-oriented pedagogical agent.

The goal of the study was to explore possible relations between the three aspects mentioned above with respect to user preferences. Results were: (i) When the agent was introduced as a learning companion, female students displayed a significant tendency to choose a more stylized visual character, (ii) When the agent was introduced as a learning companion, female students displayed a significant tendency to choose a task- and relation-oriented agent, (iii) In the case when students had chosen a more stylized character, there was a significant tendency to choose a task- and relational-oriented agent.

The paper also discusses limitations and strengths of the study, and advocates careful descriptions in studies of this kind – especially regarding the notion of visual realism. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
naturalism, realism, communicative style, stylization., pedagogical role, embodied pedagogical agent, visual style, SoTL
in
International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education
volume
19
issue
1
publisher
International AIED Society
ISSN
1560-4306
project
Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c99bf3d8-de86-414c-9122-1012b0c8fafa (old id 1364653)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 14:24:50
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:48:15
@article{c99bf3d8-de86-414c-9122-1012b0c8fafa,
  abstract     = {{. The paper presents a theoretical framework addressing three aspects of embodied pedagogical agents: visual static appearance, pedagogical role, and communicative style. The framework is then applied to a user study where 90 school children (age 12 15) in a dummy multimedia program were presented with either an instructor or a learning companion condition. They were then to choose between eight visually different embodied pedagogical agents: four more naturalistic (detailed &amp; 3D-rendered) and four more stylized (simplified &amp; cartoonish). Finally the participants were to choose between a strictly task-oriented versus a task- and relation-oriented pedagogical agent.<br/><br>
The goal of the study was to explore possible relations between the three aspects mentioned above with respect to user preferences. Results were: (i) When the agent was introduced as a learning companion, female students displayed a significant tendency to choose a more stylized visual character, (ii) When the agent was introduced as a learning companion, female students displayed a significant tendency to choose a task- and relation-oriented agent, (iii) In the case when students had chosen a more stylized character, there was a significant tendency to choose a task- and relational-oriented agent.<br/><br>
The paper also discusses limitations and strengths of the study, and advocates careful descriptions in studies of this kind – especially regarding the notion of visual realism.}},
  author       = {{Haake, Magnus and Gulz, Agneta}},
  issn         = {{1560-4306}},
  keywords     = {{naturalism; realism; communicative style; stylization.; pedagogical role; embodied pedagogical agent; visual style; SoTL}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{International AIED Society}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education}},
  title        = {{A Look at the Roles of Look & Roles in Embodied Pedagogical Agents - A User Preference Perspective}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}