Orient

65 Chapter 4 ORIENT: The Intercultural Empathy Through Virtual Role-Play Sibylle Enz Wolfgang Schneider Otto-Friedrich-Universitaet Bamberg, Germany Julius-Maximilians Universität, Germany Carsten Zoll Lynne Hall Otto-Friedrich-Universitaet Bamberg, Germany University of Sunderland, UK Natalie Vannini Ana Paiva Julius-Maximilians Universität, Germany INESC-ID, Portugal Mei Yii Lim Ruth Aylett Heriot-Watt University, UK Heriot-Watt University, UK ABstRACt In a globalised world, cultural diversity is a challenge for everyone. Even for those staying “at home” cultural diversity enters their daily lives by people migrating from other regions of the world, sharing their social world. While intercultural encounters pose a great enrichment to one’s experiences and per- spectives, they also represent an immense challenge, confronting us with different languages, attitudes, habits, and social norms. The work presented in this chapter takes up this challenge by developing and evaluating a believable agent-based educational application (“ORIENT”) designed to develop inter- cultural empathy for 12-14 year olds. The following chapter: (1) discusses the approach to use the appealing character of games in order to foster social and emotional learning in the age group while drawing on effective pedagogical interventions like role-play that have previously been successfully used to trigger social and emotional learning in a variety of real-world contexts; (2) introduces the development of ORIENT as an affective agent architecture modeling culturally-specific agent behavior, drawing on the psychological and pedagogical theories outlined; (3) considers the role of novel inter- action modalities in supporting an empathic engagement with culturally-specific characters as well as active engagement in collaborative learning within a group of learners; and (4) presents and discusses results of preliminary evaluation studies based on an early prototype. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-749-7.ch004 Copyright © 2010, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.  ORIENT BACKGROUND are asked to solve – as foreigners on the alien planet of ORIENT – story-based problems and eCIRCUS (Education through Characters with learn by interacting with the software how to get emotional Intelligence and Role-playing Capa- into contact, communicate, and cooperate with bilities that Understand Social interaction)has others who are fundamentally different from developed a new approach in the use of ICT to themselves. support social and emotional learning within The virtual world of the Sprytes is represented Personal and Social Education (PSE). This was on a large screen of the real-world interaction achieved through virtual role-play with synthetic space of the three learners, allowing for interac- characters that establish credible and empathic tion between the learners in the real-world context relations with learners. eCIRCUS investigated as well as for interaction between the learners educational role-play using autonomous synthetic and the virtual world of the Sprytes; interaction characters and involving the child through affec- devices used include RFID tagged real-world tive engagement, including the use of standard and objects and RFID reading mobile phones, a game highly innovative interaction mechanisms. This mat for navigation in the virtual world, and a has developed novel conceptual models based on WiiMote controller. First participants are told theories of narrative and role-play from psychol- about their role as applicants for an internship in ogy and implemented them in affectively driven Space Command who will travel to an alien planet autonomous graphically embodied agents – ac- called ORIENT to find out about the inhabitants, tors with attitude. It has delivered early prototype the so-called Sprytes, of whom only very little is showcases through a VLE for emotional and social known so far. Their mission goal is to find out learning, one on anti-bullying education and one about Spryte habits and ways, to allow Space on intercultural empathy. Command to judge whether it would be safe to establish further contact with the Sprytes. Then they are allocated the three roles: settiNG tHe stAGe • Navigation officer, who navigates on ORIENT (Overcoming Refugee Integration with ORIENT using the game mat and handles Empathic Novel Technology) focuses on the do- the ORA-CLE; main of intercultural learning, aiming at the home • Communication officer, who communi- community with the ultimate goal of improving cates with the Sprytes by using expert the social integration of youths with migration knowledge about Spryte gestures, using background in European countries. ORIENT is the WiiMote; a showcase developed for Personal and Social • Intelligence officer, who can exchange Education by the EU-funded project eCIRCUS, objects with the Sprytes and attract the funded within its Framework VI program. It offers Sprytes attention, using the mobile phone. a virtual learning environment for a group of three learners who are interacting with autonomous The team then “teleport” to ORIENT, which artificial characters representing another species is displayed via projector on a wall of the room (the “Sprytes”) on an alien planet called ORI- after the participants have moved to their respec- ENT, a distant planet under threat of destruction tive places. by a large meteor. Interacting with the ORIENT In the course of the role-play, the group of application, a small group of adolescent learners learners and the Sprytes gradually learn from equipped with innovative interaction technology each other and the learners share the engaging 66  22 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the publisher's webpage: www.igi-global.com/chapter/orient-intercultural-empathy-through- virtual/42160 Related Content #TextMeetsTech: Navigating Meaning and Identity Through Transliteracy Practice Katie Schrodt, Erin R. FitzPatrick, Kim Reddig, Emily Paine Smith and Jennifer Grow (2020). Participatory Literacy Practices for P-12 Classrooms in the Digital Age (pp. 233-251). www.irma-international.org/chapter/textmeetstech/237424 Exploring Cultural Responsiveness in Literacy Tutoring: “I Never Thought About How Different Our Cultures Would Be” Dana L. Skelley, Margie L. Stevens and Rebecca S. 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