Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
deployed for use at any school, or for any individual with Internet access. This
automated system was designed to address some of the limitations of the two
SERT programs. Specifically, ITS technologies provided the means of providing
individualized, adaptive, and engaging training to a wide-spread audience.
In order to transform a live intervention into an automated intervention, several
choices needed to be made (McNamara, Levinstein, & Boonthum, 2004). The most
important was how to deliver the material. One method would have been to film a
live person and use real voice. Another would have been to use an animated agent,
but use real voice. Neither of these options seemed viable because it was anticipated
that the system would need numerous and frequent changes across time (and it did).
And thus, a human voice could not be used because each small change could poten-
tially necessitate re-recording the entire script. In terms of automated voices, one of
our primary concerns was that schools be able to use the program, so this restricted
selection to voices that were cost-free (and thus not high in quality). These restraints
led us to using Microsoft Agent voices and characters.
The use of animated agents in iSTART allowed us to capitalize on several ped-
agogical techniques. SERT was transformed into three distinct iSTART modules:
the introduction module, the demonstration module, and the practice module. These
modules implemented the pedagogical principle of modeling, scaffolding, and fad-
ing, respectively. In addition, the implementation of the practice module afforded
individualized practice with feedback. The following sections describe those mod-
ules as well as how the agents were used and the particular restraints of each
module.
iSTART Modules
Introduction Module
The content of the iSTART introduction module is presented in SERT as a lecture on
self-explanation and specific reading strategies. Having an animated agent deliver
the same lecture content as a monologue risked being relatively boring and thereby
losing students' attention. One question was how to deliver the initial lecture mate-
rial without using a monologue. This was accomplished by taking advantage of what
is referred to as vicarious learning (Cox, McKendree, Tobin, Lee, & Mayes, 1999).
Vicarious learning is the notion that observing a learning process can be as effective
as engaging in the learning process directly (Craig, Driscoll, & Gholson, 2004). This
is frequently achieved by incorporating animated pedagogical agents that engage in
interactive dialogues (e.g., Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Graesser, Hu, &
Person, 2001; Graesser, Hu, & McNamara, 2005; Louwerse, Graesser, & Olney,
2002). Hence, the iSTART introductory material is presented in the form of a tria-
logue comprising questions and answers between three animated agents, including
two student agents (Mike and Sheila) and a teacher agent (Dr. Julie; see Fig. 14.1).
