Physical Media as Active Social Learning Agents
Physical Media as Active Social Learning Agents
Led by The Late Cliff Nass
The broad, long-term objectives of our study are to develop the theory and principles necessary to design new physical media that can take an active social role in creating highly motivating K-12 learning experiences. Our specific research aim is to explore how the social behavior of mechatronic media affects a creative K-12 mechatronics learning experience.
Specifically, the team of The Late Cliff Nass, Nik Martelaro and Malte Jung hypothesize that a mechatronic media component exhibiting social back-channeling behavior will lead to improved learning experiences compared to standard non-social media components.
To explore this, we developed a 2×2 between-participants laboratory experiment with (N=68) high-school students.
Presentation From the mediaX Conference “Science & Technology of Feedback”
Presentation from the mediaX Seminar “The Future of Content in a Publish on Demand World”
We specifically examined how agent expressions of relational interest affected perceptions and learning outcomes depending on the agent’s locus of agency.
We found evidence that a shift from external to embedded agents can positively influence learning processes and outcomes while not affecting perceptions of the agent.
See more of Cliff’s great work on our “Remembering Cliff Nass Page”