Cognitive and Motivational Consequences of Adapting an Agent Metaphor in Multimedia Learning: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?

This paper reviews a set of studies designed to test the hypothesis that the presence of animated pedagogical agents in multimedia environments can promote deep learning. This was done by first comparing the learning and motivational outcomes of students who learned in the context of social-agency to students who learned in a more traditional text and graphics context. Second, the particular features of the social-agency environment were manipulated to examine which of its attributes (e.g., visual and auditory presence, students' interaction, and agents' learning style) are most important in the promotion of meaningful learning. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are'discussed. (Contains 23 references.) (MES) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 1 Cognitive and Motivational Consequences of Adapting an Agent Metaphor in Multimedia Learning: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs? PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY