• Cultural differences in preference for which character the child would prefer to be

Method81 children (2 UK, 2 German schools) watched the storyboards

They then completed a scenario evaluation questionnaire. Questions inquired about reactions to the scenarios, character preferences, empathy, emotions and coping strategies. A 20 minute Classroom Discussion Forum concluded the session aiming to explore children’s attitudes and reactions towards the bullying scenarios and the characters.

Design implications

Correct language configuration for the bullying scenariosDevelopment of detailed bullying character profiles that children will comprehendStoryline design and progression and enhanced synthetic character design

In summaryUsing storyboards supplemented with written questionnaires and Classroom Discussion Forums has:

Storyboard EvaluationAimTo evaluate the bullying scenarios produced for FearNot:• Direct – physical ( boys)• Relational - social exclusion (girls)

Results• Scenarios and characters found to be

believable• Cultural differences in levels of

comprehension of the scenario• Children empathic towards victim

characters• Children identify with same gender

characters (particularly in the UK)• Girls have a more sophisticated

understanding of bullying

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15

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Perc

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Frances John Sarah Luke Janet

Characters in the Evaluated Scenarios

Germany

UK

Cultural Preference for Characters

Using Storyboards to Guide Virtual World DesignLynne Hall, Sarah Woods, Kerstin Dautenhahn & Polly Sobreperez

FearNot!FearNot - Fun with Empathic Agents to Reach Novel Outcomes in Teaching is a Virtual Learning Environment populated by 3D synthetic characters who represent the various characters in a bullying scenario in improvised dramas in a virtual school.FearNot is being developed by the VICTEC (Virtual ICT with Empathic Characters) project.

StoryboardingClassroom-based use of electronic

storyboarding software: Involves the creation of comic-strip like

representations Technique borrowed from the film and

television industry Electronic storyboarding particularly

appropriate for agents

Approach

Classroom Discussion ForumsDeveloped to obtain verbal feedback, following the approach typically used in schools of “Table Time” (small group discussions) followed by “Circle Time” or “on the carpet” (whole class discussion).

IssueFearNot’s primary users are 8 -12 year old children. It was essential to obtain their input at the early stage of lifecycle, however, no stable version of the software existed.

Storyboard Generation

Design Implications

Our approach to exploring bullying was found to be novel and engaging by children

Bullying scenarios were refined based on insights into children’s social behaviours and language capabilities.

Clear need for both relational and direct bullying scenarios

Results

• Storyboards depicting bullying behaviour successfully generated by all participants

• Most children found the storyboarding software package fun and easy to use and would use it again.

• Children stated that it made them think about the serious nature of bullying behaviour in a novel way

AimTo capture the stories and experiences that children tell about bullying behaviour.

Frames from Generated Storyboards

MethodStoryboards were generated by 15 pairs of 8-11 year old UK children over a 40 minute period. Feedback was gained through a Classroom Discussion Forum

Relational Scenario Storyboard

Physical Scenario Storyboard

• Promoted a child-centred approach in VICTEC

• Enhanced the design of scenarios • Allowed an exploration of the

importance of empathy in creating believable and engaging VLEs.

• Revealed important cultural and gender-related design implications for developing believable and engaging scenarios

FearNot! Interface & Characters