Premium
Using animated agents in learner‐controlled training: the effects of design control
Author(s) -
Behrend Tara S.,
Thompson Lori Foster
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of training and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.558
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1468-2419
pISSN - 1360-3736
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2419.2012.00413.x
Subject(s) - control (management) , style (visual arts) , personality , psychology , training (meteorology) , computer science , applied psychology , multimedia , cognitive psychology , social psychology , artificial intelligence , archaeology , history , physics , meteorology
Animated agents have the potential to increase engagement and learning during online training by acting as personalized tutors. However, little is known about the conditions that make these agents most effective. In this study, 183 e‐learners completed a M icrosoft E xcel training course. Approximately half were assigned an agent with predetermined features. The others were allowed to choose their agent's appearance, personality, feedback style or all of the above features. Offering multiple choices increased learning. Unexpectedly, choice of feedback style alone decreased self‐efficacy. Choosing the agent's appearance increased self‐efficacy and the number of training modules completed. Overall, this study expands the learner control literature, identifying a new form of learner control that has some beneficial effects on knowledge acquisition.