Social presence: A key factor in embedding a pedagogical agent into online learning in primary education

Abstract Social presence has been hypothesized to facilitate successful learning in digital and online learning environments. Instructor presence in instructional videos is suggested to enhance learners' social presence. However, research is still relatively rare regarding the elementary school learner population. The current experimental study investigated whether embedding an animated human‐like artificial pedagogical agent in an instructional video compared to having only a voice could evoke a sense of social presence and improve learning in a sample of primary school learners. The study confirmed that a sense of social presence of a virtual instructor can be fostered through a digital animated pedagogical agent; however, there was no effect on learning performance, nor did social presence mediate a relationship between learning with a pedagogical agent and learning performance.