Diversity in Computing
The Diversity in Computing Research Group investigates issues pertaining to groups that are under-represented and/or under-researched with respect to their involvement with and use of technology. The goal of this group is to find new ways to employ technology to empower individuals, with all of their unique characteristics. Current projects (see "Projects" link above) include 1) challenging females stereotypes of engineering; 2) developing video game technology to assist the elderly in gaining greater awareness of visual distractions that could lead to falling; 3) development of a PDA-based agent to support health behavior change.
Diversity in Computing Projects
- Changing Attitudes Toward Engineering
- Challenging engineering stereotypes with pedagogical agents
- Investigation of pedagogical agent features that promote learning and motivation
- Developing Video Game Technology to Assist the Elderly
- Role of Ethnicity and Voice in Foreign Language Learning
Challenging engineering stereotypes with pedagogical agents
Dr. Baylor as PI and co-PI Dr. Ashby Plant were awarded $500,000 from the National Science Foundation for the project "Pedagogical agents as social models: Challenging gender-related stereotypes of engineering." The interdisciplinary project goals are 1) to systematically investigate the effectiveness of pedagogical agents as social models to influence girls' beliefs and stereotypes about engineering; and, in parallel, 2) to use pedagogical agents as a vehicle to systematically examine the nature of the belief-changing process. See project summary.
Investigation of pedagogical agent features that promote learning and motivation
Funded by NSF Grant #0218692 through the CISE-IIS (Computer Information Science Engineering-Intelligent Information Systems) Division. Dr. Amy Baylor is the principal investigator for this $450,000 4-year project to investigate how the following pedagogical agent features contribute to learning, motivation, and perceived agent value: A) agent image (character, realism, gender, ethnicity); B) agent animation (task-related, expressive animations); and, C) agent pre-defined roles (expert, motivational advisor, co-collaborator). See project summary.
Developing video game technology to assist the elderly in gaining greater awareness of visual distractions that could lead to falling
This project, in collaboration with Dr. Gershon Tenebaum and Dr. Mark Williams, involves developing an instructional technology-based intervention to facilitate the elderly in developing better awareness of visual distractions that can cause them to fall.
Role of Ethnicity and Voice in Foreign Language Learning
This project investigates the influence of agent interface ethnicity (native, non-native) and voice (native, non-native) on foreign language learning.
Research Projects >- Pedagogical Agents and Learning Systems | PALS
- Diversity in Computing
- Emerging Learning Technologies (No Content Available)
- Metacognitive Scaffolding
- Affective Computing