E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training. First International Conference, eLEOT 2014, Bethesda, MD, USA, September 18-20, 2014, Revised Selected Papers

Research Article

Scripted Animation Towards Scalable Content Creation for eLearning—A Quality Analysis

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-319-13293-8_1,
        author={Nicoletta Adamo-Villani and Jian Cui and Voicu Popescu},
        title={Scripted Animation Towards Scalable Content Creation for eLearning---A Quality Analysis},
        proceedings={E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training. First International Conference, eLEOT 2014, Bethesda, MD, USA, September 18-20, 2014, Revised Selected Papers},
        proceedings_a={ELEOT},
        year={2014},
        month={12},
        keywords={Instructor avatar Instructor gesture Scripted animation Manual key frame animation Effective online learning materials},
        doi={10.1007/978-3-319-13293-8_1}
    }
    
  • Nicoletta Adamo-Villani
    Jian Cui
    Voicu Popescu
    Year: 2014
    Scripted Animation Towards Scalable Content Creation for eLearning—A Quality Analysis
    ELEOT
    Springer
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-13293-8_1
Nicoletta Adamo-Villani1,*, Jian Cui1,*, Voicu Popescu1,*
  • 1: Purdue University
*Contact email: nadamovi@purdue.edu, cui9@purdue.edu, popescu@purdue.edu

Abstract

The success of eLearning depends on the broad availability of educational materials that provide a high-quality delivery of high-quality content. One approach for high-quality delivery is to rely on a computer animated instructor avatar that not only speaks, but that also gestures to elucidate novel concepts and to convey an engaging personality that captures and maintains the learners’ focus. The traditional approach of manual key frame animation does not scale, as it requires a substantial time investment as well as artistic talent. We have developed a system that allows animating an instructor avatar quickly and without the prerequisite of artistic talent through a text script. In this paper we quantify the speed/quality tradeoff made by our scripted animation by comparison to manual animation.