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At first glance, it looks like a video game: five avatars sitting at desks, carrying on conversations and demonstrating a multitude of behaviors. But these animations are not as robotic as one may expect. Each avatar is precisely programmed to act and react as students would in a live classroom setting.

At the controls of this virtual classroom are Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students pursuing a degree in education. The technology is called TeachLivE™ and employs the idea of virtual simulation.

“We’re approximating what it’s going to be like in a classroom setting,” said Susanne James, assistant professor of special education and communication disorders at SIUE. “We allow our pre-service and in-service teachers to try new teaching strategies in a way that’s less threatening and offers immediate feedback.”

TeachLivE™ was started at the University of Central Florida, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin. SIUE is the first and only university in Illinois using this advanced technology.

“We can talk until we’re blue in the face sometimes about what is good, effective instructional practice, and hope students can employ those techniques in the real classroom,” James explained. “But with TeachLivE™, they have the opportunity to practice it, receive immediate coaching and feedback and then try it again.

“By employing TeachLivE™ in the SIUE School of Education, we are meeting the demands of the federal government to improve how we prepare teachers for the realities of the classroom.”

“This program provides another opportunity for SIUE students to practice what they have learned in the classroom,” added Curt Lox, dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior. “I envision this technology playing a major role in our teacher preparation programs in the near future.”

At SIUE, the program is funded primarily through grants, which cover the cost of the interaction time. This is an hourly cost covering the time of an individual at the University Central Florida who is trained in adolescent behavior. The individual specifically programs the avatars for each session.

According to James, the hardware costs are minimal, since the program runs with the use of an Xbox Kinect, a desktop computer, a web camera and Skype.

“You walk in and you meet five students: CJ, Sean, Ed, Maria and Kevin,” James described. “This is an academically diverse, culturally diverse classroom with five individuals who are pretty typical of what you would see in a middle school or high school setting, as far as their behaviors.”

Markers are placed on the floor to mirror the arrangement of the avatars on the screen. The student teacher then interacts with the avatar students by walking toward specific markers. The virtual classroom moves with the motions of the teacher, and students respond real-time to the teacher’s specific instructions and interaction.

“As an instructor, I can change the level of behavior of each student, from being mildly distracted to pretty aggressive,” James said.

“I can also determine different pedagogical approaches that I want the teacher to employ. So if it’s student talk time or student feedback, the avatars will react to whatever it is that the pre-service teacher is saying and doing within the simulation environment.”

The ability to tailor each interaction allows every student to have a personalized experience in the virtual classroom. Sessions can be paused by an instructor at any time. This gives faculty the ability to provide instant feedback so students can adjust to demonstrate best practice techniques.

“What we’ve found, and what the research has found, is that after just a couple minutes, students really start acting like they’re in a real classroom, with real kids, because the students are responding to them,” said Wendy Fuchs, associate professor and special education program director.

“It really increases their effectiveness and their comfort in the classroom, and their comfort with the content,” Fuchs added.

Undergraduate Brittany Thompson said the TeachLivE™ virtual classroom gave her a unique opportunity to perfect her teaching techniques.

“I was able to experiment and determine, what’s working? What’s not working?” Thompson explained. “The repetition was really beneficial for me.”

Thompson’s virtual experience helped her transition more smoothly into a real classroom placement.

“All of the students have their own personalities,” Thompson said. “They’re applicable to real life. In every placement I’ve been, I think I could pick out a CJ. I could pick out a Sean.”

In spring 2015, TeachLivE™ will be used in the master’s program at SIUE.

“I received a dean’s grant that will pay for interaction time where we will have an avatar student approximate different assessment measures,” James said. “I will get to dictate what miscues and errors students should make in the simulation lab. Then graduate students will be able to record that assessment and use it as they prepare their assessment record.”

TeachLivE™’s virtual offerings include an adult avatar that can approximate a parent-teacher conference or a teaching position interview. An avatar trained in the behaviors of autism is also available. TeachLivE™ plans to expand its technology to include preschool and elementary settings, as well as an English language learner setting.