KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Lessons Learned from Pedagogical Agents

Dr. W. Lewis Johnson
President and CEO, Alelo Inc.
Alelo Inc., USA

Abstract

Pedagogical agents – interactive virtual agents designed to promote learning – have found widespread use in interactive learning environments. They make it possible for intelligent tutoring systems to engage learners in a more humanlike way. They can interact with learners at an affective and motivational level, not just at a cognitive level. They can act as virtual tutors, guides, coaches, partners, and companions. They are uniquely effective in teaching communication skills. They also can provoke negative learner reactions if improperly used.
This talk will review what we have we have learned from research and learning products incorporating pedagogical agents. It will discuss some of the major successes involving this technology, as well as some disappointments. It will also discuss some key emerging opportunities involving pedagogical agents in immersive games, mixed reality environments, and in the form of lifelike robots.

Biography of the Keynote Speaker

Dr. W. Lewis Johnson co-founded Alelo in 2005, with the goal of developing advanced technologies that help people learn to communicate better with each other. Alelo's simulation-based training solutions have helped save the lives of military personnel deployed overseas. They are used worldwide for learning foreign languages, cultural awareness, and other communication skills. Prior to founding Alelo, Dr. Johnson was director of the Center for Advanced Research in Technology for Education (CARTE) at the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California. His work at USC on Tactical Language won DARPA's Significant Technical Achievement Award.
He is an internationally recognized leader in innovation for education and training. His article on the Politeness Effect in pedagogical agents, co-authored with Richard Mayer and Ning Wang, won the Most Cited Prize in 2011 from the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. In 2013 he was co-chair of the Industry and Innovation Track of the AIED 2013 conference, and is an invited speaker at the SimTecT, IASTED TEL, and I/ITSEC conferences.
Dr. Johnson has served on the governing boards and organizing committees of multiple international societies and conferences, is past president of the International Artificial Intelligence in Education Society, and past chair of the ACM Special Interest Group for Artificial Intelligence. He holds a B.A. in linguistics from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in computer science from Yale University. He is fluent in multiple languages, and is an avid user of all of Alelo's products.