Design of Virtual Tutoring Agents for a Virtual Biology Experiment

Virtual learning environments (VLEs) may possess many advantages over traditional teaching methods in skills training that offer empowerment of constructing the skills by freely exploring a VLE. However, a conflict between the free exploration and ensuring the learning tasks tackled emerges in the learning process. A strategy to balance the conflict is to employ virtual tutoring agents to scaffold the learning tasks. This research has been carried out to investigate the issues of design and utility of a virtual tutoring agent system in a VLE to allow higher education (university based) students to practise immunology laboratory experiments, which simulates a well known immunochemical assay in the Life Sciences area, namely a Radio Immunoassay. This paper discusses the classification of category of the virtual agents in a VLE and focuses on the design of tutoring agents. Three types of the tutoring agents have been selected and implemented in the Radio Immunoassay simulation. The considered points in programming the virtual tutoring agents and their tasks are presented in this paper. A formative evaluation studies have been carried out and discussed to verify the designed virtual tutoring agents are satisfied to the target students' needs. Keywords Design of virtual tutoring agent, agent-based virtual learning environments, agent-based virtual environment for biology experiment, agent-based training software in biology, intelligent virtual laboratory, interactive learning software

Games and Simulations in Soft Skills Training

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by DeAnna L. Proctor on March 29, 2016

Proceedings of the 4th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2002)

The proceedings of the conferenc

Developing scaffolded virtual learning environments for people with autism

Virtual Environments offer the potential for users to explore social situations and experience different behaviour responses for a variety of simulated social interactions. One of the challenges for the VE developer is how to construct the VE to allow freedom of exploration and flexibility in interactive behaviour, without the risk of users deliberately or inadvertently missing important learning goals. The program has to be structured to guide the user in their learning and to take into account different levels of ability. This embedded ‘scaffolding’ within the VE software can aid the user’s learning in different contexts, such as individual, tutored or group learning situations. This thesis looks at the design and implementation of desktop VEs in a classroom for teaching social skills to people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The first part of the thesis looks at work carried out as part of the AS Interactive project, a multidisciplinary research project using User Centred Design principles. VEs developed with the help of teachers and users were constantly refined in an iterative design process with evaluations and observations of the use of the VEs in the classroom to assess the effectiveness of elements used to scaffold the VEs. The last part of the thesis looks at work continued by the author after the end of the AS Interactive project after recommendations in that project for the VEs to fit the needs of the individual. Individualisation is researched with a number of demonstration and prototype VEs developed to help obtain information from autism experts and teachers on how best to individualise a learning VE for people with autism. The outcomes of this thesis include an exploration of the role of the programmer within a multi-disciplinary research group and the iterative development of VEs. A number of recommendations on how to scaffold VEs and make them usable in the classroom are then made. Finally recommendations are made on features and scenarios that could be useful in individualised learning VEs for people with autism and which require further evaluation in a classroom

Developing scaffolded virtual learning environments for people with autism

Virtual Environments offer the potential for users to explore social situations and experience different behaviour responses for a variety of simulated social interactions. One of the challenges for the VE developer is how to construct the VE to allow freedom of exploration and flexibility in interactive behaviour, without the risk of users deliberately or inadvertently missing important learning goals. The program has to be structured to guide the user in their learning and to take into account different levels of ability. This embedded ‘scaffolding’ within the VE software can aid the user’s learning in different contexts, such as individual, tutored or group learning situations. This thesis looks at the design and implementation of desktop VEs in a classroom for teaching social skills to people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The first part of the thesis looks at work carried out as part of the AS Interactive project, a multidisciplinary research project using User Centred Design principles. VEs developed with the help of teachers and users were constantly refined in an iterative design process with evaluations and observations of the use of the VEs in the classroom to assess the effectiveness of elements used to scaffold the VEs. The last part of the thesis looks at work continued by the author after the end of the AS Interactive project after recommendations in that project for the VEs to fit the needs of the individual. Individualisation is researched with a number of demonstration and prototype VEs developed to help obtain information from autism experts and teachers on how best to individualise a learning VE for people with autism. The outcomes of this thesis include an exploration of the role of the programmer within a multi-disciplinary research group and the iterative development of VEs. A number of recommendations on how to scaffold VEs and make them usable in the classroom are then made. Finally recommendations are made on features and scenarios that could be useful in individualised learning VEs for people with autism and which require further evaluation in a classroom

Proceedings of the 5th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2004)

The proceedings of the conferenc