Using Microsoft Agents in teaching-- Good or Bad?

Microsoft Agent is a tool used to create innovative, audio interfaces for applications (like power-point and words) and Web pages. It provides animation capability, interactivity, and versatility, with incredible ease of development.

Good

Microsoft Agents creates a pleasant learning environment with its visual and audio animation. It is ideal in drawing learner's attention (thru its emphasing keywords technique or thru its gestures) to a specific item in the learning presentation. It also provides an alternative medium for presentation work; esp good for "wordy" presentation.

Poor

• It cannot be used for all presentation type; esp those where the serious element is vital, because it seems a little childish.
• The voice of the agent is rather synthetic; in fact it has some Pronunciation problems with technical jargon and some non-English words which are used commonly in English language (eg guru, mantra, Bon voyage, Bon Fide).
• Oh ya! to view the agents..you must download the Microsoft Agent pack otherwise no agents can be viewed.
• Having Limited agents also can be issue if you exhaust all agents for your lessons.
• Lastly, to apply the agents on your website, you must have the technical know-how.

My View:

If teaching the pri/sec levels, using microsoft agents would be a good way to get their attention to be subject matter. It also adds colour,variation,sound and animation to the conventional slides. It might not work too well for tertiary students (can't imagine my NUS lecturer using peedy to explain thermodynamics or process controls).

With the 2 links given by Mr Woo, I find it easier to understand and comprehend the content when animation is used. But i must add that my judgement may not be fair because i read the content from the non-animation first; Thus with my prior knowledge, viewing the animation one made me understand things easier.

So let's hear your view---from those you watch the animation site before the non-animated one!