Effect of levels of realism of mobile-based pedagogical agents on health e-learning

Background: One of the ways for effective communication between learners and instructional multimedia content in mobile learning systems is taking advantage of characters or pedagogical agents. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the levels of realism in mobile-based pedagogical agents on health e-learning. Methods: The study was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design involving three experimental groups. The target population included those participants who themselves or one of their relatives suffered from digestive disorders. The sample consisted of 48 participants selected through a convenience sampling procedure and were randomly assigned to either of the groups. The instruments and materials included instructional multimedia lessons and learning tests (pretest and posttest). The instructional multimedia content consisted of instructional materials related to familiarity with the human digestive system, its function, and relevant disorders. The participants in each group were exposed to the same instructional content but with a different level of realism related to the pedagogical agent (i.e., iconic, semi-iconic, and realistic). The instructional multimedia lessons were delivered through a mobile-based health leaning management system. For the data analysis, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied. Results: The results showed that the group with the realistic pedagogical agent (M = 29.29, SD = 4.20), compared with the iconic pedagogical agent (M = 25.53, SD = 2.99), performed better on learning measurement (p = 0.20). Conclusion: The employment of pedagogical agents, as one of the influential tools in improving learners' motivation and learning, should receive greater attention in designing and developing instructional multimedia, especially in the field of health learning services.