Using Low Interactive Animated Pedagogical Agents in Online Learning

Many online learning providers use Animated Pedagogical Agents (APAs) to enhance interactions with learners because APAs possess lifelike characteristics which make them behave intelligently and therefore humanly. But the technology behind APAs is complex and costly; its design is also not easily customizable by ordinary instructional designers, teachers, and the like. This imposes a limit to the scope of using APAs in education. This book explores the possibility of an alternative way of rendering APAs for instruction by using low interactivity. It establishes its design based on an interaction framework that is derived from related pedagogy rather than from sophisticated technology. But because using low interactive APAs is relatively a new idea, there could be drawbacks and other implications that may impact learning. This book employs both experimental approaches and surveys to understand those impacts including the effectiveness and learners’ perceptions of the instruction. Anyone who is interested in APA-based instruction or who has always wanted to design your own instruction using APAs but does not have the means to do so may find this book useful and meaningful.