The effects of empathetic virtual characters on presence in narrative-centered learning environments

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the role that narrative can play in learning. With the emergence of narrative-centered learning environments that engage students by drawing them into rich interactions with compelling characters, we have begun to see the significant potential offered by immersive story-based learning experiences. In this paper we describe two studies that investigate the impact of empathetic characters on student perceptions of presence. A study was initially conducted with middle school students, and was then replicated with high school students. The results indicate that, for both populations, employing empathetic characters in narrativecentered learning environments significantly increases student perceptions of presence. The studies also reveal that empathetic characters contribute to a heightened sense of student involvement and control in learning situations. Author Keywords Learning environments, virtual characters, presence, empathy, narrative, and...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Scott W. McQuiggan, Jonathan P. Rowe, James C. Lester
• Keywords: CHI 2008, Empathetic Characters, Human Computer Interaction, Immersive Story-based Learning, Keywords Learning Environments