Drama teachers can rely on Dave to stay in character when they direct improvised scenes with pupils.

That is because Dave is not a student but a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) who joins in when pupils take part in drama sessions on computers - usually without them knowing he is not real.

The creation of an automated pupil is a new development for the makers of EDrama, which has been used in schools for three years.

The original program allows pupils to type dialogue which appears in speech bubbles above cartoon-style characters on screen.

The software, developed by Hi8us in Birmingham, has been popular with some drama teachers because its anonymity encourages shy pupils to come forward and allows groups to improvise scenes around difficult topics.

In partnership with Birmingham university, the program-makers have now developed the AI element which they hope to include in a published version of the program next year.

It's like a real person, well almost...
When 39 pupils at Swanshurst school in Birmingham tested it, none realised that Dave, who takes part in improvisations about bullying, and a waiter, who appears in a restaurant scene about Crohn’s disease, were not real.

But they did notice that Dave is not the world's best improviser, as did The TES when it joined teachers to test out the program.

Dave is a simple form of AI and relies mainly on canned phrases including: "No-one messes with me", "You are desperate people" and "I'm the best here".

He can respond to pupils' comments through programmed algorithms, although this does result in him repeating spelling errors. When one character complained "I hate my shoees", Dave replied "Why do you hate your shoees?"

The program-makers are also having to adapt the character so he can cope with text slang that students use in typed dialogue, such as MUSM for "Miss you so much".

Professor John Barnden, of Birmingham university's school of computer science, admitted Dave often sounded stupid but said pupils found this liberating as it made them less afraid of appearing daft.

The automaton also creates less work for the teacher, who usually acts as a director of the scenes giving each pupil or the group notes as they go along to keep their dialogue in character. 

Fine tuning EDrama for the future
Professor Barnden said the inclusion of the AI in EDrama increased the number of pupils who wanted to play longer but it had also raised the proportion who felt bored by the end from 9 to 18 per cent.

"Luckily we’ve 13 months left on this project so we have room to improve this," he said.

Future changes for EDrama include switching the characters from simple 2D to more detailed 3D and allowing them to express emotions automatically through their posture and movements.

The developments were unveiled at an event for educational game-makers organised by People at the Centre of Communication and Information Technologies (PACCIT), an organisation set up by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

For more about EDrama visit www.paccit.gla.ac.uk