1) What desirable characteristics would you most like in your personal pedagogical agent?

The most desirable characteristics would be that the pedagogical agent would be able to build a profile over time, based on my preferences that it learns along the way. Thus it can learn about my strengths & weaknesses and apply that knowledge into the way topics are presented to make that subject more appealing and easier to understand.

Prompt feedback would be of essence in the real world. Real-time feedback would not only facilitate the rate at which tasks are processed, but will avoid the hassle of waiting times experienced by the user.

Most importantly, my ideal pedagogical agent would be with me throughout the entirety of my day. In the sense that it would act more of a companion. Take Siri or Alexa for example, they merely respond to your requests and execute high level commands such as 'Play my favourite song' etc. However the sort of companion which I am referring to is one that interacts with you on a more personal level. I know that it is far fetched but what if in the future you can have a companion agent that you could talk to, one that recognizes emotions and acts like a virtual human being? Or even one that asks you about your day in general to get a conversation going? This sounds highly futuristic but I am sure that it is a possibility.

2) Extract ideas from the provided papers to identify how you would like your agent to appear and act?

Do pedagogical agents make a difference to student motivation and learning? Steffi Heidiga, Geraldine Clarebout

In my opinion it should be able to take any form which is accessible by the user, be it on their mobile phones, smart-watches, laptops, online, or even  virtually through the means of a VR equipment.

For how they look in fact, should be left decided to the user. For example, if I would like more of an informal feel to my education, I would intend to make use of this agent in a more casual, friendly-like way, then I would prefer if I see a human being modelled with a casual outfit since we would be outside the traditional classroom. Also, as suggested by S. Heidig and G. Clarebout in the above attached document, the user should be able to decide if the agent is animated or static. In the case of an animated model of the agent, the execution of deictic gestures can help focus the attention of the learner and create a much more immersive experience for the user. 

At a medium design level where technical decisions are made, the more the agent can convey emotional expressions and give empathetic responses, the higher the immersion and thus the more captivated the learner would be, thus making the interaction feel more realistic.

E3 2009: Project Natal Milo demo : An example of how human to agent interaction may be in the future.

3) Would you interact with your agent at an academic level only? What else?

As mentioned in the previous two questions, I would prefer that the agent would act more like a companion rather than a situational tool, one where I can talk to and express myself and they can understand me and give me an educated response. 

There is still a long way to go to achieve a genuine emotional level interaction between a human and such an agent. However, at the rate that technology is advancing, I am entirely sure it is possible for this childhood dream to become a reality.