An Animated Pedagogical Agent for SQL-Tutor
Pramuditha Suraweera
Department of Computer Science
University of Canterbury
Abstract
Animated pedagogical agents are animated characters that inhabit interactive learning environments. In addition to providing problem-solving advice in response to a students actions, they are also able to play a powerful motivational role. This project develops an animated pedagogical agent for the computer based teaching system, SQL-Tutor. The introduction of a pedagogical agent to SQL-Tutor enables it to provide higher motivational support to the students and enhances their quality of learning.
An evaluation of the impact of the agent on the students learning experience was carried out with second year Computer Science students from the University of Canterbury. The study revealed that the presence of an animated character with an interesting personality has a strong positive effect on students perception of the learning experience. The study also demonstrated that students were more motivated to interact with the system equipped with the agent compared with the SQL-Tutor with no agent.
