Benefits of a Tangible Interface for Collaborative Learning and Interaction

Authors:
Bertrand Schneider;Patrick Jermann;Guillaume Zufferey;Pierre Dillenbourg
Affiliations:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne;Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne;Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne;Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne
Venue:
IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies
Year:
2011

Citing 0
Cited 7

Task performance vs. learning outcomes: a study of a tangible user interface in the classroom

EC-TEL'10 Proceedings of the 5th European conference on Technology enhanced learning conference on Sustaining TEL: from innovation to learning and practice
Phylo-Genie: engaging students in collaborative 'tree-thinking' through tabletop techniques

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Combinatorix: a tangible user interface that supports collaborative learning of probabilities

Proceedings of the 2012 ACM international conference on Interactive tabletops and surfaces
Designing tabletop activities for inquiry-based learning: lessons from phylogenetics, neuroscience and logistics

Proceedings of the 2012 ACM international conference on Interactive tabletops and surfaces
TinkerLamp 2.0: designing and evaluating orchestration technologies for the classroom

EC-TEL'12 Proceedings of the 7th European conference on Technology Enhanced Learning
BeatTable: a tangible approach to rhythms and ratios

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
Tangible versus graphical user interfaces for robot programming: exploring cross-age children's preferences

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

We investigated the role that tangibility plays in a problem-solving task by observing logistic apprentices using either a multitouch or a tangible interface. Results showed that tangibility helped them perform the task better and achieve a higher learning gain. In addition, groups using the tangible interface collaborated better, explored more alternative designs, and perceived problem solving as more playful. Mediation analysis revealed that exploration was the only process variable explaining the performance for the problem-solving task. Implications of this study are discussed in terms of the benefits of tangibility for education and directions for future research.