Pedagogical agent

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Pedagogical agents

Meaghan Lister, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Definitions and background

Pedagogical agents are animated life-like characters used in electronic learning environments with which learners can interact and have meaningful conversations (Veletsianos and Miller, 2008; Bowman, 2012; Theodoidou, 2011). They have human-like characteristics including emotions, reactivity and speech (Velesianos, 2010; Theodoidou, 2011) and coordinate speech and narration with gaze and gestures (Dunsworth and Atkinson, 2007).

Pedagogical agents are used in educational programs from preschool to university and serve in various helping roles such as virtual health coaches and information guides (Clarebout, Elen, and Johnson, 2002; Haake and Gulz, 2008). They can be used for many purposes including advising, tutoring, coaching, demonstrating, and modelling (Scroeder and Adesope, 2012; Mahmood and Ferneley, 2006) and as a learning companion or peer who encourages and motivates learners to put more effort into learning (Kim and Baylor, 2006; Yanghee and Baylor, 2006 ).

Pedagogical agents are designed to support learning and instruction in an electronic learning environment, (Veletsianos and Miller, 2008; Schroeder and Adesope, 2012) and can adapt their level of support to the individual needs of the learner (Clarebout et al., 2002). They can be used to guide learners to engage in learning activities (Lin, Chen, Wu, and Yeh, 2008).

Links

Instructional Design – Pedagogical Agents and Tutors
Design-A-Plant Will Put Virtual Teacher in Classrooms
Pedagogical Agents
Pedagogical Agents on the Web
The role of pedagogical agents in scenario-based language e-learning: A case study