DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-015-0065-9

Summary
An overview of how animated pedagogical agents evolved in the first 20 years of their occurrence is provided in this article. The authors discuss whether their early predictions and ideas on how animated pedagogical agents can be applied in the game-based learning environment fulfilled during the years by comparing the current situation to the one described in the article published 15 years ago. They state that some of the originally published ideas, such as pedagogical agents acting as learning companions or navigational guidance, have already been developed and are currently a common practice in the educational process. However, other ideas, such as the use of pedagogical agents for personalized education, are still under development. The article has both the evaluation of current situation and future perspectives for the pedagogical agents. It is concluded that pedagogical agents can improve the effectiveness of the learning environment.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The authors suggest using animated pedagogical agents in the virtual blended learning environment. Nowadays the quality and popularity of pedagogical agents increased as the usage of artificial intelligence enables to communicate with speech (natural language processing), synthesize expressions and full-body movements, select the proper content for the student. This results in effective communication between the student and the virtual learning environment. Although authors state that this approach is better admitted in science and technological studies, animated pedagogical agents can be used to help in learning process of various subjects, including collaborative complex problem solving and coordinating learning activities in the group work.

Point of Strength
The article presents animated virtual pedagogical agents which can be applied in teaching and learning process and support complex collaborative problem solving to coordinate activities of group work.