Proceedings of Informing Science & IT Education Conference (InSITE) 2010 Technology in Education: An Agile Systems Approach Bill Davey RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia Bill.Davey@RMIT.edu.au Kevin R Parker Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, USA Parkerkr@isu.edu Abstract Innovative use of technology in education often comes about through a champion exploring pos- sibilities. Because this approach is often informal, the need to assess the effectiveness of the tech- nology is often overlooked. An agile systems approach to the introduction of new technology in education can provide effective ways of measuring outcomes. The agile approach also allows us to build on the experience gained from using technology in other areas. Evidence from two case studies is used to demonstrate the value that can be gained from taking an agile systems approach. Keywords: characters, agile methods, education, educational technology, animated pedagogical agents, volatile Introduction This paper arises from difficulties encountered in attempting to determine the effects of using animated pedagogical agents in programs across two universities. Animated pedagogical agents are animated characters designed to interact with users in computer-based environments. At RMIT in Australia and Idaho State University separate teams of researchers have been attempting to improve delivery of disparate IT-based courses through the use of on-screen characters. In both cases the projects were initiated with a view to exploring whether animated pedagogical agents could enhance the delivery of course content. It was not until some education material had been produced that the issue of outcome measurement was considered. It seems counterintuitive that people with extensive experience and detailed knowledge of how to implement and evaluate in- formation systems neglect to put this knowledge to work in educational technologies. The majority of educational technology projects can be categorized by some commonly occurring scenarios. New technologies arise so often and so quickly that an educationalist is often con- fronted with the question, “Can I do anything with this technology?” The educationalist might then attempt to construct something that works. After some facility with the new technology is achieved applications in the classroom can be attempted. Because requirements are ambiguous, involving exploring whether anything useful can be con- structed or if students will find the new technology useful, there seems little point in specifying detailed require- ments for the exemplar system. Although the use of online technologies is becoming ubiquitous (Wong & Tat- Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is per- missible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee. Contact 0HPublisher@InformingScience.org to re- quest redistribution permission.