Improving communication through automated role-play

Researchers:

•         Dr Sarah Beecham (Principle Investigator, Marketing and Project manager)
•         Dr John Noll (Content/Technical Lead)
•         Dr Helen Kelly-Holmes (Content Advisor)

Dr. Sarah Beecham (Lero/CSIS), Dr. John Noll (Lero/CSIS) and Dr. Helen Kelly-Holmes (Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences) are working on a simulation-based environment for interaction training. The project called Venture is a virtual training environment that helps enhance a learner’s interpersonal skills to include diversity training, performance feedback, leadership and cultural awareness any type of role play that can be acted out in a safe environment in the learner’s own time.

VENTURE is particularly suited to compliance based training where the learner interacts in real time with chat bots using open/semi-structured conversation. VENTURE has three key elements: (1) a conversation Simulator used by the learner to engage in chat with a “virtual colleague”; (2) a Scenario Designer that enables instructors to create interaction training exercises; and (3) an Automated Assessment Mechanism that evaluates the learner’s performance.

Video links: http://venture.lero.ie/venture-demo/