Pedagogical Agents in Virtual Reality for Training of Biomedical Engineering Students

Ersilia Vallefuoco, Elisabetta Ponticelli, Alessandro Pepino, Francesco Amato

2025

Abstract

Technological advancements have enhanced the development of pedagogical agents (PAs) to support the learning processes. The present work describes a new application of a PA in a virtual reality (VR) environment for the education of students in biomedical engineering. The PA, represented by a virtual physician, allows the student to analyze the healthcare system in an interactive way, favoring the acquisition of professional skills. A preliminary test was performed with a small sample size. The results show good usability and credibility, with responses from participants revealing that the PA is effective for reflection on complex healthcare systems. Future enhancement will be done on the PA’s nonverbal cues, followed by full integration into virtual environments to improve user engagement and realism.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Vallefuoco E., Ponticelli E., Pepino A. and Amato F. (2025). Pedagogical Agents in Virtual Reality for Training of Biomedical Engineering Students. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: ERSeGEL; ISBN 978-989-758-746-7, SciTePress, pages 915-920. DOI: 10.5220/0013502400003932

in Bibtex Style

@conference{ersegel25,
author={Ersilia Vallefuoco and Elisabetta Ponticelli and Alessandro Pepino and Francesco Amato},
title={Pedagogical Agents in Virtual Reality for Training of Biomedical Engineering Students},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: ERSeGEL},
year={2025},
pages={915-920},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013502400003932},
isbn={978-989-758-746-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: ERSeGEL
TI - Pedagogical Agents in Virtual Reality for Training of Biomedical Engineering Students
SN - 978-989-758-746-7
AU - Vallefuoco E.
AU - Ponticelli E.
AU - Pepino A.
AU - Amato F.
PY - 2025
SP - 915
EP - 920
DO - 10.5220/0013502400003932
PB - SciTePress