Design of an Affective Agent for Aplusix Thor

Embodied Conversational Agents are computer interfaces that are capable of interacting with human users in a conversational manner. In the area of intelligent tutoring systems, ECAs hold great promise in enhancing the capabilities and performance of learners though simulating functions performed by human tutors such as providing feedback on the student‟s progress. One of the challenges in ECA design is that of establishing protocols for providing appropriate feedback to students. In this paper, we present two models of these protocols that we intend to use in the design and development of an ECA for Aplusix, an intelligent tutor for algebra.