Measurement and Evaluation of Animated Pedagogical Agents and Their Use in Training
Abstract
This project entailed a total of six experiments, five conducted in a laboratory and one implemented in a field setting. Across all six experiments, the multimedia computer-based instruction focused on fostering learners' proportional reasoning ability in the context of multi-step word problems. The experiments led to the recognition of four different effects: (a) a voice effect, which suggest that designers of multimedia learning environments should create life-like on-screen agents that speak in a human voice rather than a machine-synthesized voice; (b) an image effect, an agent's image fosters learning when it is programmed to explain complex visual information aurally; (c) an embodiment effect, which suggests that in a linear computer-based environment, the visual presence of an animated agent is a critical factor in optimizing learning outcomes whereas an agent's mobility is a less important factor; and (d) a sequential effect, which suggest that sequentially presented subgoals are superior to simultaneously presented subgoals in example-based instruction.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 16, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA420184
Entities
People
- Mary Margaret Merrill
- Robert K. Atkinson
- Thomas Hosie
Organizations
- Mississippi State University