Digital Avatars as Teachers
The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting article:
(to read the whole article you'll need to be on the campus network or log in via the library's offsite access)
Why Digital Avatars Make the Best Teachers
My virtual representation of me, commonly known as an avatar, can outperform me as a teacher any day. It can pay unwavering attention to every student in a class of 100 or more; show my most spectacular actions while concealing any lapse, like losing my cool; and detect the slightest movement, hint of confusion, and improvement...
posted by Vanessa @ 11:16 AM
7 Comments:
Interesting! I think it would take a bit of time to get used to, though. Also, how much would this cost, both the university and the students? The research on classroom 'sweet spots' is something new to me. And the article even has Ashley's favourite phrase ... no child gets left behind :o)
I wasn't really surprised by this article. It reminded me of all the 'mirroring' advice I was given for working with parents during parent-teacher conferences, meetings, etc. My question is similar to Helen's - what would the cost for the development and implementation of such a system be?
I've just recently learned about avatars and how there is a study that says they can impact human characteristics. For instance, if someone was short in real life but as an avatar was tall, they would begin to feel tall-like characteristics in the real world. Thus, the realism in these avatars must be profound. I have yet to experience it and it kind of has a creepy effect on me. Maybe I just watch too many movies. Its unbelievable the possibilities but I still would like to see the practical aspects of it such as connectivity levels and technology required by all students to go through the course.
We were just talking about this in Keller's Motivation class on Monday. I think Rachel pointed out that the average user is more likely to succeed with an avatar when the device looks like them. I thought that was interesting.
This is fascinating! I really appreciated the comment: "But good teachers already use psychology to help students learn, and standard techniques can be made more effective in virtual education." I can relate to Laura's comment that it may be a bit "creepy", but I think that using technology in this fashion is amazing. I do worry about the exclusionary aspect of it, however. I would think that accessibility could be a very big issue.
I also find this 'creepy'. And the sad (?) thing about this is that people rather relates to a virtual reality than to people in the real-world! Laura's point is very interesting. But doesn't matter if virtually you are tall. If in reality you are short, you are short, even if you feel you are tall!
Side-track a little ... I have a friend who is rather introverted, especially so after she becomes a mother. Recently, she began socializing in Facebook and she can spend hours after hours, even into late nights, to do her Facebook stuff - chatting, sending drinks/gifts to other people, patting other's pet, etc. She feels good 'socializing' and that she had found friends in the virtual world. The reality remains that she is introverted and does not like to go out to meet friends - she just want to stay home and do her house stuff. Sadly, she likes meeting people in the virtuality, not reality.
Interesting entry Francis about your Facebook friend. I think the study was getting more at avatars and at people who want to be something they are not. Even though I don't know much about her, I'm assuming she is herself on Facebook. It is easier to be outspoken online because of the time lapse in communication and there is less pressure involved. Hence why nowadays I've seen a trend where so many teenagers break up online! In other words, maybe she really doesn't want to be social in the real world. If she really wanted to be more social in the real world but couldn't for whatever reason and found she could online, then I think gradually her real world life would be changed as a result. I hope that made sense and I'm apologize for making the assumptions about your friend- but its just hypothetical.
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