Abstract
In this paper we present an avatar-based help system for web-portals that should provide various kinds of user assistance. Along with helping users on individual elements of a web page, it is also capable to offer step-by-step guidance supporting users to complete specific tasks. Furthermore users can input free text questions in order to get additional information on related topics. Thus the avatar features a single point of reference, when the user feels the need for assistance. Different to typical systems based on dedicated help sections consisting of standalone HTML pages, help is instantly available and displayed directly at the element the user is currently working on.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann, A.: Direkte Manipulation: Empirische Befunde zum Einfluß der Benutzeroberfläche auf die Erlernbarkeit von Textsystemen. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie 31(3), 108–114 (1987)
bwGRiD Project, http://www.bw-grid.de/
bwGRiD Portal Project, http://www.bw-grid.de/portal/
Chandler, P., Sweller, J.: Cognitive Load Theory and the Format of Instruction. Cognition and Instruction 8(4), 293–332 (1991)
Enterprise Open Source Portal and Collaboration Software – Liferay.com, http://www.liferay.com/
Gatlet Project Page, http://gatlet.scc.kit.edu/index.php
gLite - Lightweight Middleware for Grid Computing, http://glite.cern.ch/
Globus Alliance, http://www.globus.org/
GridSphere Portal Framework, http://www.gridsphere.org
JSR-000168 Portlet Specification (Final Release), http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/final/jsr168/index.html
Lester, J.C., Converse, S.A., Kahler, S.E., Barlow, S.T., Stone, B.A., Bhogal, R.S.: The Persona Effect: Affective Impact of Animated Pedagogical Agents. In: Proc. CHI 1997, pp. 359–366 (1997)
NWChem High-Performance Computational Chemistry Software, http://www.nwchem-sw.org
Official Gaussian Website, http://www.gaussian.com/
Rickenberg, R., Reeves, B.: The Effects of Animated Characters on Anxiety, Task Performance, and Evaluations on User Interfaces. In: Proc. CHI 2000, pp. 49–56 (2000)
Sweller, J., Cooper, G.A.: The Use of Worked Examples as a Substitute for Problem Solving in Learning Algebra. Cognition and Instruction 2(1), 59–89 (1985)
Theng, Y.L., Thimbleby, H.: Addressing Design and Usability Issues in Hypertext and on the World Wide Web by Re-Examining the “Lost in Hyperspace” Problem. Journal of Universal Computer Science 4(11), 839–855 (1998)
UNICORE (Uniform Interface to Computing Resources), http://www.unicore.eu/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Lang, H., Mosch, C., Boegel, B., Benoit, D.M., Minker, W. (2011). An Avatar-Based Help System for Web-Portals. In: Jacko, J.A. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction. Interaction Techniques and Environments. HCI 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6762. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21605-3_59
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21605-3_59
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-21604-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-21605-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)