The paper presents a theoretical framework addressing three aspects of embodied pedagogical agents: visual static appearance, pedagogical role, and communicative style. The framework is then applied to a user study where 90 school children (aged 12-15) in a dummy multimedia program were presented with either an instructor or a learning companion…

Microsoft PowerPoint™ has become the generic name used when describing slideware applications. This study analyzed the gender differences of participant attitudes and perceptions of various components of PowerPoint™ presentations. Preservice science teachers (none licensed, mostly undergraduates) viewing PowerPoint™ presentations of science…

A study was conducted by the Air Force to determine the extent to which takeoff/landing skills learned in a simulator equipped with a night visual system would transfer to daytime performance in the aircraft. A transfer-of-training design was used to assess the differential effectiveness of simulator training with a day versus a night…

The effects of visual grouping strategies involving animated and static graphic presentations on learning were studied. Also studied was the ability of students to learn a scientific rule presented incidentally in an animated sequence in the hope of replicating results from previous research. A total of 39 fourth graders participated in an…

Virtual reality (VR) is a new computational paradigm that redefines the interface between human and computer. VR may result in a significant improvement over traditional instruction because it is not only a multimedia interactive tool but also a learning environment extremely close to reality. Few empirical studies have been done on the use of VR…

Users of content-based software programs, including hypertexts and instructional multimedia, rely on the navigation functions provided by the designers of those program. Typical navigation schemes use abstract symbols (arrows) to label basic navigational functions like moving forward or backward through screen displays. In a previous study, the…