Alissa Nicole Antle

Are tangibles more fun?: comparing children's enjoyment and engagement using physical, graphical and tangible user interfaces

This paper presents the results of an exploratory comparative study in which we investigated the relationship between interface style and school-aged childrens enjoyment and engagement while doing puzzles. Pairs of participants played with a jigsaw puzzle that was implemented using three different interface styles: physical (traditional), graphical and tangible. In order to investigate interactional differences between the three interface styles, we recorded subjective ratings of enjoyment, three related subscales, measured times and counts of behavioral based indications of engagement. Qualitative analysis based on observational notes and audio responses to open interview questions helped contextualize the quantitative findings and provided key insights into interactional differences not apparent in the quantitative findings. We summarize our main findings and discuss the design implications for tangible user interfaces.

The CTI framework: informing the design of tangible systems for children

New forms of tangible and spatial child computer interaction and supporting technologies can be designed to leverage the way children develop intelligence in the world. The author describes a preliminary design framework which conceptualizes how the unique features of tangible and spatial interactive systems can be utilized to support the cognitive development of children under the age of twelve. The framework is applied to the analytical evaluation of an existing tangible interface.

What the body knows: Exploring the benefits of embodied metaphors in hybrid physical digital environments

A recent trend in ubiquitous computing is the development of new forms of interfaces, which rely on embodied interaction. We focus on the definition of embodiment that refers to the ways in which abstract concepts rely on metaphorical extensions of embodied schemata shaped by processes below the level of conscious awareness as explored by Lakoff and Johnson [Lakoff, G., Johnson, M., 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA]. Our inquiry focuses on understanding the role embodied metaphors may play in supporting people to understand the possibilities for physical interaction in augmented spaces. We explore this issue through the development and evaluation of an interactive audio environment. We instantiate metaphor theory by using embodied schemata as the basis for the interactional metaphor that relates full-body input actions to audio output responses. We demonstrate and explore the benefits of this approach through a comparative experiment in which adults and children learn to use our audio environment. The results from our experiment indicated that embodied metaphors improve usability however, other factors including discoverability, perceivability of feedback and duplicity of structural isomorphism may mediate these metaphor-based benefits. We have generalized our main findings as a set of suggestions for the design of embodied style interfaces that rely on physical interaction.

Futura: design for collaborative learning and game play on a multi-touch digital tabletop

This paper introduces a collaborative learning game called Futura: The Sustainable Futures Game, which is implemented on a custom multi-touch digital tabletop platform. The goal of the game is to work with other players to support a growing population as time passes while minimizing negative impact on the environment. The design-oriented research goal of the project is to explore the novel design space of collaborative, multi-touch tabletop games for learning. Our focus is on identifying and understanding key design factors of importance in creating opportunities for learning. We use four theoretical perspectives as lenses through which we conceptualize our design intentions and inform our analysis. These perspectives are: experiential learning, constructivist learning, collaborative learning, and game theory. In this paper we discuss design features that enable collaborative learning, present the results from two observational studies, and compare our findings to other guidelines in order to contribute to the growing body of empirically derived design guidelines for tangible, embodied and embedded interaction.

Playing with the sound maker: do embodied metaphors help children learn?

In this paper we present the results of a comparative study that explores the potential benefits of using embodied interaction to help children, aged 7 to 10, learn abstract concepts related to musical sounds. Forty children learned to create musical sound sequences using an interactive sound making environment. Half the children used a version of the system that instantiated a body-based metaphor in the mapping layer connecting body movements to output sounds. The remaining children used a version of the same environment that did not instantiate a metaphor in the mapping layer. In general, children were able to more accurately demonstrate sound sequences in the embodied metaphor based system version. However, we observed that children often resorted to spatial rather than body-based metaphors and that the mapping must be easily discoverable as well as metaphorical to provide benefit.

Introduction to the special issue on the theory and practice of embodied interaction in HCI and interaction design

Theories of embodiment focus on how practical engagement and the structure of the body shape perception, experience, and cognition. They typically reject a view of human cognition as grounded in abstract information processing. The concept of embodied interaction is increasingly used in the design, analysis, and evaluation of interactions with and around technology. However, many questions remain as to exactly what embodied interaction means and whether it can be considered a coherent program of research. The aim of this special issue is to critically explore different perspectives on embodied interaction in HCI and interaction design research and practice and to focus on what theoretical traction they can provide.

Case study: the design of CBC4Kids' StoryBuilder

This paper describes the design of an online collaborative storytelling environment for children aged 8--10. The project balances childrens needs to have flexible creative environments [22] with the desire of a public broadcaster to publish quality user-generated content that showcases Canadian stories. This paper outlines five key practices that contributed to the successful design of StoryBuilder. Ninety-five children were involved in the project using a combination of informant-based and user-centred iterative design techniques. Examination and observation of oral storytelling activities and behaviors, technology-based creativity tools and storytelling styles formed the basis for the remaining design practices.

Embodied metaphors in tangible interaction design

For centuries, learning and development has been supported by physical activity and manipulating physical objects. With the introduction of embedded technologies, opportunities for employing tangible or embodied interaction for learning and development have emerged. As a result of previous research, we have seen that interaction models based on embodied knowledge (through embodied metaphors) can support children’s learning in abstract domains. Although metaphorical mappings are promoted in tangible and embodied interaction research, little is known about how to identify embodied metaphors, or how to implement them effectively into interaction models. In this paper, we introduce a people-centered, iterative approach to the design of tangible learning systems with embodied metaphor-based mappings. As a design case, we implemented our approach to the design of Moving Sounds (MoSo) Tangibles; a tangible system for learning abstract sound concepts. The system consists of a set of interactive tangibles with which children can manipulate pitch, volume, and tempo of ongoing tones. In a user study with 39 participants, we found that all children were able to reproduce sound samples with MoSo Tangibles.

Hands on what?: comparing children's mouse-based and tangible-based interaction

We investigate the similarities and differences -- in terms of quantitative performance and qualitative behaviors -- between how children solve an object manipulation task using mouse-based input versus tangible-based input. This work examines the assumption common in tangible computing that direct physical manipulation is beneficial for certain spatial tasks. We describe an ecologically valid comparison of mouse-based versus tangible-based input for a jigsaw puzzle task in order to better understand the tradeoffs in choosing input and interaction styles. We include a traditional cardboard puzzle for comparative purposes. The results of an experiment with 132 children indicate children are more successful and faster at solving puzzles using a tangible-based approach. Detailed temporal analysis indicates that pairs in the tangible group spend most of their time using a combination of epistemic and pragmatic actions which support mental problem solving. Conversely, pairs in the mouse group use an ineffective trial and error strategy.

Getting Down to Details: Using Theories of Cognition and Learning to Inform Tangible User Interface Design

Many researchers have suggested that tangible user interfaces (TUIs) have potential for supporting learning. However, the theories used to explain possible effects are often invoked at a very broad level without explication of specific mechanisms by which the affordances of TUIs may be important for learning processes. Equally problematic, we lack theoretically grounded guidance for TUI designers as to what design choices might have significant impacts on learning and how to make informed choices in this regard. In this paper, we build on previous efforts to address the need for a structure to think about TUI design for learning by constructing the Tangible Learning Design Framework. We first compile a taxonomy of five elements for thinking about the relationships between TUI features, interactions and learning.We then briefly review cognitive, constructivist, embodied, distributed and social perspectives on cognition and learning and match specific theories to the key elements in the taxonomy to determine guidelines for design. In each case, we provide examples from previous work to explicate our guidelines; where empirical work is lacking, we suggest avenues for further research. Together, the taxonomy and guidelines constitute the Tangible Learning Design Framework. The framework advances thinking in the area by highlighting decisions in TUI design important for learning, providing initial guidance for thinking about these decisions through the lenses of theories of cognition and learning, and generating a blueprint for research on testable mechanisms of action by which TUI design can affect learning.