Pedagogical agents are animated life-like characters designed to facilitate learning in computer-mediated learning environments (Johnson, Rickel, & Lester, 2000). As a social human-computer-interface, pedagogical agents have a unique potential to address diverse learning situations and diverse learners. Using two different research designs, we have found that agent image can play a key role in motivating learners. The first study examined how learners’ gender and ethnicity influenced their choice of pedagogical agents how they perceived the persona of the chosen agents (see Baylor, Shen, & Huang, 2003). 183 undergraduates from two southeast universities participated in the study and were provided eight agents (see Table 1) to choose from, each differing by gender (male, female), ethnicity (African American, Caucasian), and realism (realistic, cartoon).