Intelligent and empathic agent to support student learning in virtual worlds

Virtual worlds potentially provide students with a simulated environment that can provide exposure to situations and contexts not possible in reality and allow exploration of concepts, objects and phenomena that is safe both in terms of removing any physical danger or risk of failure if poor choices are made. This is certainly true in science education. However, the exploratory nature of virtual worlds can result in a lack of focus or direction in the learning. Observation of trials with the science-based Omosa Virtual 3D world has revealed that some students lose motivation. This project aims to personalise the learning experience of science-related skills through the incorporation of intelligent agents and asks "How can intelligent agents apply educational scaffolding to the demotivated student to maximise their time and enhance their 3D virtual learning experiences?" Building on the findings of previous studies involving agent-based virtual worlds, adaptive collaborative learning and intelligent agents, an intelligent virtual agent has been designed and partially prototyped so that it provides educational scaffolding to the student learning.