Writing with Alice the

Virtual Peer
Hans Gabriel Chua, Geraldine Elaine Cu, Chester Paul
Ibarrientos,
Moira Denise Paguiligan, and Ethel Chua Joy Ong*
STORY
WRITING
Story writing is essential for children to express their
experiences and observations, as well as to develop
imaginative skills, thought organization and written
communication skills.
Technology in learning

Word
processors
Technology in learning

Word Presentation
processors makers
Technology in learning

Word Presentation Online

processors makers collaboration
Integration of Artificial Intelligence

Virtual agents:
embody some form of human
intelligence
IBM Deep Blue
IBM Watson
mimics various human capabilities
and attributes
can interact through different
interfaces: written or spoken
language, facial expressions, body
gestures
But virtual agents can be more than that
But virtual agents can be more than that

They can act as tutors that can provide

specialized learning interventions
The virtual agent can embody the role of a tutor, facilitator,
learning companion or a playmate.
Stories and Story Writing
Story elements and structure
Elements of a
story:
Character
Setting
Plot
Story elements and structure
Elements of a Three-act structure:
story: Beginnin Setup, introduction
Character g of characters,
setting and conflict
Setting
Plot Middle Confrontation,
series of events

End Resolution
Story Writing
Story writing can be difficult for children:
Difficulty in generating text
Lack of knowledge about writing and the writing process

Teachers utilize different techniques:

Using a pre-writing stage
Using themes as writing prompt
Assisting by suggesting details
Role of Peers in Storytelling
A virtual agent can serve as:
A peer who collaborates on the task
A guide that assists on navigating around the learning
environment
A coach who gives instructions on how to use tools
A tutor who monitors performance and gives timely
feedback

According to Vgotsky, a child can perform at a higher

level of development if learning is done with a
Role of Peers in Storytelling
A virtual agent can serve as:
A peer who collaborates on the task
A guide that assists on navigating around the learning
environment
A coach who gives instructions on how to use tools
A tutor who monitors performance and gives timely
feedback

According to Vgotsky, a child can perform at a higher

level of development if learning is done with a
Introducing Alice
Alice the Virtual Peer
A virtual agent that can collaborate
with children in writing stories. Alice
can also be called a virtual peer.

Collaborates by contributing more

information about the elements and
events present in the story

Performs two roles: a facilitator and

a collaborator
Two Roles of Alice Tell me more about John.
What is the attitude of
Dudley?
Facilitator I want to hear more about
Johns father.

Alices dress can be blue.

Kevin has a car.
Jenna is honest.

Collaborator
Beginner Mode
Beginning Middle End
Follows the
three-act
structure

Provides a
checklist to
be followed
Beginner Mode
Beginning Middle End
Follows the
three-act
structure
The conflict is the problem

Provides a in the story

Ex: John hates durian.
checklist to
be followed
Advanced Mode
No need to follow
the three-act
structure

Alice still does its

role as a
collaborator and a
facilitator
Child inputs the story in
the text box.

Alice identifies:
Nouns that may
represent characters,
objects and locations
Verbs that represent
actions (possible
conflict)
Adjectives that
represent
descriptions
How? Conflict Detection
Uses SenticNet, a
database of
polarities (identifies
words with positive
and negative
connotations).
How? Event Detection
Done by extracting
action words

Excludes auxiliary
verbs
How? Resolution Detection
Algorithm detects
positive events
related to the
conflict

Utilizes a common
sense knowledge
base
Examples of collaborating and
facilitating
How? Facilitating
Uses templates:
Write more about <noun>.
Tell me why <phrase>.
Tell me why John ran away.

Set of specific questions:

What is the attitude of
<noun>
What is the attitude of
John?
How? Collaboration
Uses ConceptNet, a
database of common
sense knowledge

Examples of common
sense knowledge:
ball isA toy
chicken hasProperty
delicious
going to bed causes
Results and Testing
Testing
Testing was conducted on 24 children, 7 to 9 years old
Each child was asked to write a story with Alice
Debriefing was done afterward to get feedback
The stories created were recorded onto a log
Two iterations of testing was done
The system was also evaluated by linguists for errors
Results
In the first iteration, 50% claimed to be able to finish
their stories.
Internal logs show that none of them actually finished
the story
Gabriela went and roamed around SM. Gabriela
bought clothes and notebooks. The notebooks are
pretty. Gabriela ate at a restaurant. She ate fried
chicken. It is yummy. She drank juice. The juice is
RC. She played at SM. She played at the horses.
The horses are pretty. She went to Jollibee. She
rested. She rode a train. The train is beautiful. She
went to Manila. She bought shoes. She went home.
Gabriela went and roamed around SM. Gabriela
bought clothes and notebooks. The notebooks are
pretty. Gabriela ate at a restaurant. She ate fried
chicken. It is yummy. She drank juice. The juice is
RC. She played at SM. She played at the horses.
The horses are pretty. She went to Jollibee. She
rested. She rode a train. The train is beautiful. She
went to Manila. She bought shoes. She went home.
Results
91.7 of the participants asked Alice for help at least once, because:
They were having a hard time in writing
They want to know more options on how the story may unfold
They find Alices prompts and suggestions amusing
33.3% did not find the prompts useful
Of the participants who found the suggested sentences to be useful,
75% opted to append them to their stories because:
They cannot think of anything to write
The suggestion stated a fact
The suggestion gave a new detail to their story
Other problems
Misspelled words can
affect the systems output
Alice was not able to
suggest anything at times

Prompts can be repetitive

Other problems

Choosing the incorrect noun for

prompts
Other problems

Concepts are unfamiliar, too obvious and does not make

sense
Conclusion
Conclusion
This research applied text understanding and text
generation techniques to enable a virtual agent, Alice, to
collaborate with a child in writing a story
Alice can support and assist children as authors by giving
them space to practice language through writing stories
Alice also gives an environment where a child can write
at his/her own pace, select his/her own topic and work
with a peer whose role can be determined by the child
himself/herself
Conclusion
Alice is currently able to address a few of the challenges
faced by children during writing. Alice can be further
designed to utilize story starters to help the child identify
a topic to write about.
Alice can also be extended to assume a tutor role where
it can:
Help in correcting spelling and grammar errors
Aid in vocabulary enrichment by suggesting various
synonyms and using advanced words in its suggestions
The knowledge base should also be expanded or tailored
Thank you for listening! Any
questions?