by Lana Scott, MIT, US.
From virtual reality classrooms to AI-powered simulations and video-based instructors, avatars are rapidly becoming a central feature of modern education. On February 26, the Media and Learning Association hosted a webinar on the role and possible value of avatars in higher education. In the first presentation, Gary Burnett (Loughborough University) spoke about the benefits of students embodied as avatars in immersive learning experiences in virtual environments as well as some of the challenges in this area. This was followed by Erik Boon (Vrije Universiteit) who presented three use cases where AI driven live avatars were used in various course configurations. Finally, Marco Toffanin (University of Padua) spoke about his empirical research on video avatars in online education.
Stepping Into Someone Else’s World
The first presentation by Gary Burnett , highlighted the use of avatars in virtual reality to create immersive, empathy-driven learning experiences. One of the most compelling applications was when students were placed into scenarios where they navigated the world as individuals with physical and visual impairments such as using a wheelchair or experiencing blurred vision. This allowed learners to go beyond theory and experience challenges firsthand, leading to a deeper understanding and emotional engagement.
Another key use case was team building through shared visual environments. Uniform avatars help reinforce group identity and collaborations while interactive challenges like navigating a maze, encourage communication and leadership. Research from these activities showed improved attitudes towards teamwork after the VR experience.
Burnett also explored long term avatar use in education where students attend classes as avatars over extended periods. Students may initially prefer realistic representations but later embrace non-human avatars. Overall, the presentation highlights that avatars can deeply enrich learning but only when aligned with clear educational goals.
Learning Through AI-Powered Interaction
The second presentation by Erik Boon, focused on AI-driven avatars used in interactive educational scenarios. In one case, students interact with AI avatars representing professionals (i.e. HR managers) to gather information and produce reports. In another, students engage with virtual board members and respond to unexpected business “disruptions” and received AI generated feedback on their performance. And finally, in another case, students interact with AI powered representations of historical figures, allowing them to explore legal and historical contexts.
These use cases show how avatars can support active, scenario-based learning, offering students opportunities to practice decision making and communication in realistic contexts. This approach allows for scalability; students can engage in conversation with virtual characters.
However, Erik did highlight technical and practical challenges including system costs, limited voice realism and the complexity of integrating tools into learning platforms. Despite these limitations, the potential for personalised, interactive learning at scale is clear.
Can avatars replace the instructor?
The third presentation examined whether video avatars can effectively replace or supplement human instructors in online courses. Through controlled experiments involving university staff and students, Marco Toffanin investigates whether AI generated avatars can match human instructors in clarity, engagement, and overall effectiveness.
The results were very interesting. In terms of clarity and understanding, AI avatars performed comparably to human instructors. However, participants showed a slight preference for human voices, largely due to their greater expressiveness and emotional engagements.
Despite this, video avatars offer advantages. They reduce production time and cost and make it easier to create multilingual content. But the key limitation is lack of expressiveness. Current AI avatars do not fully understand or emotionally interpret the content their deliver, which does affect engagement. The presentation concludes that while avatars are promising, their effectiveness depends heavily on improvements in expressiveness and emotional delivery.
The Bigger Picture
Across all three presentations, a consistent message was that avatars have the potential to transform how we teach and learn but their success depends on thoughtful implementation.
Avatars can foster empathy through immersive experiences, enable interactive, real-world simulations and scale educational content efficiently. At the same time, educators must consider how realistic and expressive avatars need to be, ethical implications of identity and representation and whether avatars truly enhance specific learning outcomes.
Ultimately, avatars are not about replacing teachers. They are about expanding what is possible in education. When used intentionally, they can create richer, more engaging and more inclusive learning experiences.
Lana Scott , MIT, US
