Thursday, November 17, 2005
Attractive Virtual Professors Draw Student Attention
Attractive Virtual Professors Draw Student Attention: "There's a simple reason why computers have not taken over teachers' jobs: They're boring, unpersuasive, unattractive and soulless.
That may soon change if Amy Baylor can perfect the virtual professors she's working on.
'Up until now, the personal computer's potential to be a valuable teaching and learning tool has been stymied by its 'soulless' nature,' says Baylor, a professor of instructional systems at Florida State University's Research of Innovative Technologies for Learning (RITL). 'We're using computers to simulate human beings in a controlled manner so we can investigate how they affect and persuade people.'
Baylor is focusing on friendly facial expressions, soothing hand gestures, and a 'coolly intelligent voice' to create characters that are ' both disarmingly lifelike and surprisingly persuasive.'
Early tests show Baylor might be on to something.
The characters -- Baylor calls them pedagogical agents -- will ultimately be more than just 3-D animations and voices. Software will allow them to adapt to a student's skill level in a given subject and provide feedback, both cognitive and emotion"
That may soon change if Amy Baylor can perfect the virtual professors she's working on.
'Up until now, the personal computer's potential to be a valuable teaching and learning tool has been stymied by its 'soulless' nature,' says Baylor, a professor of instructional systems at Florida State University's Research of Innovative Technologies for Learning (RITL). 'We're using computers to simulate human beings in a controlled manner so we can investigate how they affect and persuade people.'
Baylor is focusing on friendly facial expressions, soothing hand gestures, and a 'coolly intelligent voice' to create characters that are ' both disarmingly lifelike and surprisingly persuasive.'
Early tests show Baylor might be on to something.
The characters -- Baylor calls them pedagogical agents -- will ultimately be more than just 3-D animations and voices. Software will allow them to adapt to a student's skill level in a given subject and provide feedback, both cognitive and emotion"
