Jayfus T. Doswell

Context-Aware Mobile Augmented Reality Architecture for Lifelong Learning

Virtual Instructor enabled Mobile Augmented Reality Systems (MARS) have the potential to provide continuous and autonomous instruction to human learners anytime, anyplace, and at any-pace. MARS based learning provides the advantage of a natural human-computer interface, flexible mobility, and context-aware instruction allowing learners to interact with their natural environment with augmented perceptual cues. These perceptual cues combining multi-modal animation, graphics, text, video, and voice along with empirical pedagogical techniques can elegantly orchestrate a mobile instructional tool that facilitates life-long learning. The challenge, however, is building a mobile instructional tool with capabilities for adapting to various learning environments ranging from traditional schools and outdoor learning to the workplace while also considering the cultural, geographical, and other contexts about the learner. This paper discusses a novel system/software architecture, CAARS, for developing context-aware mobile augmented reality instructional systems.

It's virtually pedagogical: pedagogical agents in mixed reality learning environments

Pedagogical Embodied Conversational Agents (PECA) that autonomously behave in mixed reality environments, respond to muti-modal input across computer networks, interact with human learners using context aware intelligence, and apply proven pedagogical techniques during instruction have the potential to improve and accelerate human learning performance anytime, anywhere, and at any-pace. This paper discusses the PECA Product Line Architecture (PPLA) model for building interactive pedagogical agent systems and discusses a prototype system from the architecture.

Pedagogical embodied conversational agent

A virtual reality instructor that autonomously trains a human learner in network virtual environments, respond to multi-modal input across computer networks, and applies proven pedagogical techniques during instruction has the potential to improve human learning performance anytime, anywhere, and at any pace. Building virtual instructors, however, have challenged researchers because of multidisciplinary expertise required in areas such as education, cognitive science, sociology, artificial intelligence, 3D computer graphics, linguistics, and more. This paper discusses a model for building human computer interactive virtual instructor systems using an innovative, system/software architecture.

Robotics In Mixed-Reality Training Simulations: Augmenting STEM Learning

Problem solving using LEGOS is a 3-credit hour course offered to any student at Pace University of Pleasantville, New York. The class uses a project-based learning environment, which consists of four design projects. This paper discusses the pedagogical advantages of teaching robotics in a mixed-reality environment with a virtual instructor as opposed to teaching robotics in a traditional laboratory setting. The implication of this learning intervention is the personalized and immersive learning experience that has the potential for strengthening problem solving skills using science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for life-long STEM proficiency

An Innovative Approach to Teaching Robotics

Problem solving using LEGOS is a 3-credit hour course offered to any student at Pace University of Pleasantville, New York. The class uses a project-based learning environment, which consists of four design projects. This paper discusses the pedagogical advantages of teaching robotics in a mixed-reality environment with a virtual instructor as opposed to teaching robotics in a traditional laboratory setting

A Virtual Instructor Service-Oriented Architecture for Teaching Robotics in Mixed Reality

One of the biggest challenges faced by most computer science educators is assessing whether a student comprehends programming and robotic design concepts. In this paper, we introduce the benefits of exploring new technologies for learning in the form of LEGO robotics and obtaining problem solving skills. Students use the LEGO (Mindstorms for Schools) Team Challenge kit #9790 in conjunction with a programming environment called ROBOLAB. Finally, we propose a Virtual Instructor as a mixed reality based instructional system that addresses these learning challenges and reduces the learning curve for robotics as well as enhances robotic instruction.

Instruction Through The Ages: Building Pervasive Virtual Instructors for Life Long Learning

A pervasive virtual instructor is an artificially intelligent instructor that may appear transparent to the learner or appear in the form of a three-dimensional graphical character, digital toy, or robot with capabilities to inhabit mixed reality environments, and provide personalized instruction anytime, anywhere, and at an-pace. Similarly to pedagogical agents, or traditional virtual instructors, pervasive virtual instructors are expected to behave autonomously, respond to human verbal/non-verbal input, and deliver information to human users. Unique to pervasive virtual instructors in this paper are capabilities to provide instruction across distributed networks, interact with human learners using context-aware intelligence, and apply empirically researched pedagogical/andragogical techniques. Technology challenges remain for building pervasive virtual instructors to achieve aforementioned capabilities. This paper summarizes technical challenges and an approach for building pervasive instructors that provide life long instructional services

Building the virtual reality instructor

Building virtual reality instructors as 3D-animated characters that behave autonomously in networked virtual environments, responds to multi-modal input across computer networks, interact with human learners using context-aware intelligence, and apply proven pedagogical techniques during instruction exemplify the potential to provide human learning anytime, anywhere, at any pace. However, building a virtual reality instructor poses significant challenges for researchers due to interdisciplinary expertise required in areas such as cognitive science, sociology, computational humanities, artificial intelligence, 3D computer graphics, linguistics, and more.