AFFECTIVE COMPUTING AND EDUCATION

Affective computing is a concept that was born in the 1990’s: computer systems that deal not only with data and information, but also with emotions. They are capable of detecting the emotions in users, and providing emotional feedback appropriate to the situation. The idea was initially proposed by Rosalind Picard, and though at the beginning it was met with skepticism by the academic community, it has since developed into a full blown research area. In this paper, the field of affective computing is presented, and its relationship with learning systems is explored. Some examples of the application of affective computing to tutoring systems are described, including the detection of the affective state of the user based on facial expression, the design of affective interfaces aimed at generating positive emotional states in the user, or the application of computerized teaching agents to investigate the different emotions that can be evoked in the users of learning systems. Finally, some of the open issues in the field of affective computing are put forward, such as the relationship between learning styles and emotional interfaces, the influence of emotion in computer supported cooperative work, or the capture of physiological data to infer emotion in users in a non-intrusive way.