AI Agents in VR Boost Programming Education Engagement
Researchers at the University of Tübingen have made strides in enhancing programming education through AI agents in virtual reality. Their work, set to be presented at the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) in October 2025, shows promising results in student engagement and understanding.
The study, titled 'From Tool to Partner: Exploring the Roles of Gemini on AI Agent in Pair Programming', found that students felt more engaged, confident, and motivated when learning with embodied AI. These AI agents, equipped with the ability to gesture and interact with the virtual environment, helped students grasp instructions better. For instance, pointing to sections of code improved understanding.
However, some students found the physical movements of the embodied AI distracting when unrelated to spoken responses. Despite this, students were more willing to accept embodied AI peers as partners compared to voice-only AI, leading to increased engagement in the learning experience. The first two authors of the paper are Xiaoran Yang and Yang Zhan, Ph.D. students at NC State, with co-authorship by Noboru Matsuda, an associate professor of computer science at NC State.
The study suggests that embodied AI agents have potential for advancing programming education. By providing valuable design insights, they can help create more intuitive and supportive AI programming partners. The paper will be presented at the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) in Raleigh, N.C., in October 2025.
