Representations of animal companions on student learning perception: Static, animated and tangible

Educational agents (including animal companions) are a kind of interface agent, which is a significant component in educational systems, and has great impacts on student learning. However, with the development of emerging technologies (e.g., tangible technology), few studies have yet investigated how tangible technology can be used to combine with animal companions to foster student learning and interaction. In addition, different representation styles of animal companions on student learning are also seldom investigated. To address these research questions, this paper develops a My-Dragon system which blends tangible and animal companions for maximizing young student interaction. The system is further evaluated by an empirical study by eighteen pupils compared with a static and an animated version. The results reveal that such a tangible system is of benefit to the student learning perception in terms of attention, emotion, and interaction aspects. Some implications on findings and future system development are also discussed.