I’ve been away from my RSS reader a couple of days, and when I came back to it today I saw these two interesting articles. The first one looks at avatar design with respect to perceived interactivity and immersion, and although implications for education are not explored, it’s easy to see how this work applies to the increasing importance of pedagogical agent’s visual aesthetics. While I may not completely agree with the second article, it does a good job delineating the complexity of our work.

Enjoy.

Avatars Mirroring the Actual Self versus Projecting the Ideal Self: The Effects of Self-Priming on Interactivity and Immersion in an Exergame, Wii Fit

in CyberPsychology & Behaviour by Seung-A Annie, Department of Communication, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Abstract: As exergames are increasingly being used as an interventional tool to fight the obesity epidemic in clinical studies, society is absorbing their impact to a more intense degree. Interactivity and immersion are key factors that attract exergame consumers. This research asks, What are the effects of priming the actual self versus the ideal self on users’ perceived interactivity and immersion in avatar-based exergame playing? and What are important moderators that play a role in exergame users’ self-concept perception? To answer these research questions, this study leveraged the Wii’s avatar-creating function (Mii Channel) and exergame feature (Wii Fit) in a controlled, randomized experimental design (N=126). The results of a 2×2 factorial design experiment demonstrated the significant main effect of self-priming on interactivity and the moderating role of the actual-ideal self-concept discrepancy in influencing immersion during exergame playing. Game players who created an avatar reflecting the ideal self reported greater perceived interactivity than those who created a replica avatar mirroring the actual self. A two-way ANOVA demonstrated the moderating role of the actual–ideal self-concept discrepancy in determining the effects of the primed regulatory focus on immersion in the exergame play. The underlying theoretical mechanism is derived from and explained by Higgins’s self-concept discrepancy perspective. Practical implications for game developers and managerial implications for the exergame industry are discussed.

Technology-supported learning innovation in cultural contexts

in Educational Technology Research and Development by Jianwei Zhang, University at Albany, SUNY Department of Educational Theory and Practice

Abstract: Many reform initiatives adopt a reductionist, proceduralized approach to cultural change, assuming that deep changes can be realized by introducing new classroom activities, textbooks, and technological tools. This article elaborates a complex system perspective of learning culture: A learning culture as a complex system involves macro-level properties (e.g., epistemological beliefs, social values, power structures) and micro-level features (e.g., technology, classroom activities). Deep changes in macro-level properties cannot be reduced to any component. This complex system perspective is applied to examining technology-supported educational change in East Asia and analyzing how teachers sustain the knowledge building innovation in different contexts. Working with the macro–micro dynamics in a learning culture requires a principle-based approach to learning innovation that specifies macro-level changes using principle-based instead of procedure-based terms and engages teachers’ deep reflection and creative engagement at both the macro- and the micro-level.