SXSWedu 2022: Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future

Support our SXSWedu 2022 proposal - Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future

Join us for a fascinating discussion about the future of learning. Our session, Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future, will discuss how the rapid evolution of deeply realistic digital avatars will transform teaching and learning and the experience of our students in the future. 

Consider the possibilities: Digital avatars will provide students with personalized learning coaches and the possibility of interacting with digital replicas of faculty at any time and place. And think about the challenges: will today’s issue of fake news in social media be replaced by “fake instructors” in the future? Will students value the limited availability of our real presence or the convenience of 24/7 digital instructors? The possibilities and challenges spiral into a vortex of questions we need to address before our fully realistic avatars arrive.

Community input is an important part of the selection process – please support our proposal Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future! 

Proposal Link:  https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/118380

SXSWedu 2022: Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future

While XR has continued to develop, the global pandemic has served as a catalyst to explore immersive multiuser environments. But these virtual worlds with their cartoon-like avatars are largely experienced on a flat-screen and are only primitive examples of the virtual worlds we will have access to in the future. The convergence of XR and AI will lead to avatars that are not only lifelike but respond to you with human gestures and speech. We’ve already seen early examples of this in Magic Leap’s Mica and Sensorium’s new digital avatars. But even they are just a distant glimpse of the learning environments students and faculty will use in the future. 

Here’s our proposal description for Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future:

How will virtual avatars transform learning? With the global pandemic, educators began exploring virtual worlds to connect students and foster a sense of co-presence. But it is critically important that we understand how virtual avatars shape both our online and offline identities. We will examine case studies and cutting-edge research on avatar representations and interactions to ensure that our future virtual selves foster authentic learning and incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Key Takeaways:

  1. Learn how cutting-edge social virtual worlds will open new opportunities for learning 
  2. Understand how the convergence of immersive technologies such as XR and AI will create deeply realistic and responsive avatars 
  3. Identify ethical questions that will arise when virtual avatars become indistinguishable from humans

Please Support our Proposal!

It’s never about the technology, but about learning. But technology provides new opportunities and challenges that will get exponentially more complicated once we have digital replicas of ourselves.

Please support our proposal, Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future,    and we hope to see you in Austin in 2022. Community input is an important part of the selection process, and we’d love to have your support! Please vote for our proposal on the SXSW Panel Picker platform: 

Vote for SXSWedu 2022: Learning with Embodied Avatars in the Future

Thank you!