ABSTRACT

Digital agents are considered a general-purpose technology. They spread quickly in private and organizational contexts, including education. Yet, research lacks a conceptual framing to describe interaction with such agents in a holistic manner. While focusing on the interaction with a pedagogical agent, that is, a digital agent capable of natural-language interaction with a learner, we propose a model of learning activity based on activity theory. We use this model and a review of prior research on digital agents in education to analyze how various characteristics of the activity, including features of a pedagogical agent or learner, influence learning outcomes. The analysis leads to identification of information systems research directions and guidance for developers of pedagogical agents and digital agents in general. We conclude by extending the activity theory-based model beyond the context of education and show how it helps designers and researchers ask the right questions when creating a digital agent.

摘要

数字代理被认为是一种通用技术。它们在私人和组织环境中迅速传播，包括教育。然而，研究缺乏概念框架来以整体方式描述与此类代理的交互。在关注与教学代理的交互时，即能够与学习者进行自然语言交互的数字代理，我们提出了一种基于活动理论的学习活动模型。我们使用这个模型和对教育中数字代理的先前研究的回顾来分析活动的各种特征，包括教学代理或学习者的特征，如何影响学习结果。分析导致信息系统研究方向的确定和一般教学代理和数字代理开发人员的指导。