Networked Digital Puppetry

Basic Research

Agent behaviors, human computer interaction and network protocols.

Applications

Training, rehabilitation and peer pressure resist/avoid skills.

Funding

• NIH: Use of role-playing in virtual environments to help middle school girls to develop resist/avoid strategies to peer pressure with regard to risky behaviors.
• NSF: Support for network protocol development with an emphasis on reducing latency and bandwidth requirements.
• NSF: Use of role-playing in virtual environments to help college freshmen to develop resist/avoid strategies to peer pressure with regards to binge drinking.
• Bill & Melina Gates Foundation: TeachLivE project that uses digital puppetry in teacher rehearsal/training.
• Auxiliary: UCF has established an Auxiliary for support of the TeachLive system’s use; fees from universities that use the system keep this auxiliary funded.

Collaborations (In addition to those at CECS and IST)

• NIH grant involves colleagues in UCF Colleges of Nursing and Science, Penn State and Miami.
• Second NSF grant is joint with Weill Cornell Medical College and involves a colleague from UCF Student Development & Enrollment Services.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gift involves colleagues in UCF College of Education and from fifteen (soon to grow to thirty) colleges of education at other universities.

Recognition in 2011/12

TeachLivE selected by American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education for 2011 Best Practice Award for Innovations in Technology; also selected for Honorable Mention Winner of National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI) 2012 Leveraging Excellence Award.