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Co-Designing Digital Humans for Online Learning: A Framework for Human-AI Pedagogical Integration

Xiaokang Lei, Ching Christie Pang, Yuyang Jiang, Xin Tong, Pan Hui

TL;DR

This work addresses the lack of practical guidelines for integrating AI-driven digital humans into online learning by proposing a co-design framework that answers when, what, and how digital teachers should intervene. It combines a design-space analysis of 87 sources, a survey of 132 learners, and three co-design workshops with 18 experts to derive actionable guidance. The resulting framework maps when to teach, what to teach, and how to design digital-teacher interactions across platform-specific and platform-agnostic factors, emphasizing learner-state adaptivity, personalization, and closed-loop feedback. The framework aims to enable scalable, equitable online learning environments powered by digital teachers, with implications for educators, designers, and HCI researchers and directions for future empirical validation.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping education, with virtual avatars emerging as digital teachers capable of enhancing engagement, sustaining attention, and addressing instructor shortages. Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for equitable quality education, these technologies hold promise yet lack clear guidelines for effective design and implementation in online learning. To fill this gap, we introduce a framework specifying when, what, and how digital teachers should be integrated. Our study combines (1) a design space analysis of 87 works across AI, educational technology, design, and HCI, (2) a survey of 132 learners' practices and preferences, and (3) three co-design workshops with 18 experts from pedagogy, design, and AI. It provides actionable guidance for educators, designers, and HCI researchers, advancing opportunities to build more engaging, equitable, and effective online learning environments powered by digital teachers.

Co-Designing Digital Humans for Online Learning: A Framework for Human-AI Pedagogical Integration

TL;DR

This work addresses the lack of practical guidelines for integrating AI-driven digital humans into online learning by proposing a co-design framework that answers when, what, and how digital teachers should intervene. It combines a design-space analysis of 87 sources, a survey of 132 learners, and three co-design workshops with 18 experts to derive actionable guidance. The resulting framework maps when to teach, what to teach, and how to design digital-teacher interactions across platform-specific and platform-agnostic factors, emphasizing learner-state adaptivity, personalization, and closed-loop feedback. The framework aims to enable scalable, equitable online learning environments powered by digital teachers, with implications for educators, designers, and HCI researchers and directions for future empirical validation.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping education, with virtual avatars emerging as digital teachers capable of enhancing engagement, sustaining attention, and addressing instructor shortages. Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for equitable quality education, these technologies hold promise yet lack clear guidelines for effective design and implementation in online learning. To fill this gap, we introduce a framework specifying when, what, and how digital teachers should be integrated. Our study combines (1) a design space analysis of 87 works across AI, educational technology, design, and HCI, (2) a survey of 132 learners' practices and preferences, and (3) three co-design workshops with 18 experts from pedagogy, design, and AI. It provides actionable guidance for educators, designers, and HCI researchers, advancing opportunities to build more engaging, equitable, and effective online learning environments powered by digital teachers.
Paper Structure (47 sections, 6 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 47 sections, 6 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Digital Human in Education
  4. The Need for Digital Humans in Online Education
  5. The Importance of AI and LLMs in Online Learning
  6. The Need for a New Framework for Online Learning with Digital Teachers
  7. Methods
  8. Design Space and Key Factors
  9. Design Space
  10. When to Use
  11. What to Teach
  12. How to Design
  13. Key Factors
  14. Platform with Digital Teacher-Specific Factors
  15. Platform-Agnostic Factors
  16. ...and 32 more sections

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: An overview of our proposed framework. From left to right: an example of key factors and design space in adopting digital teachers in online learning; including what to teach; when to use; and how to design.
  • Figure 2: Motivation and Perceived Effectiveness of Digital Teachers.
  • Figure 3: Preference for Immersive Modalities in Digital Teachers.
  • Figure 4: Preference for Expressive Modalities in Digital Teachers.
  • Figure 5: On-site photos of the workshops.
  • ...and 1 more figures