ISCA Archive MATISSE 1999
ISCA Archive MATISSE 1999

New tools for interactive speech and language training: Using animated conversational agents in theclassroom of profoundly deaf children

Ron Cole, Dominic W. Massaro, Jacques de Villiers, Brian Rundle, Khaldoun Shobaki, Johan Wouters, Michael Cohen, Jonas Baskow, Patrick Stone, Pamela Connors, Alice Tarachow, Daniel Solcher

This article describes our experienees with an animated conversational agent being used in daily classroom activities with profoundly deaf children at the Tucker Maxon Oral School in Portland Oregon. We first articulate some reasons why animated conversational agents can revolutionize learning and language training by providing a more effective mode of human computer interaction. We then describe the capabilities of our animated agent, Baldi, and the software environment used to design and run interactive media systems. We then describe applications designed by teachers and students that illustrate ways in which students in three different classrooms converse and interact with Baldi. We conclude with a brief look at the next generation of animated conversational agents.