Bart Hengeveld

Tangibles for toddlers learning language

Here we present LinguaBytes, a modular, tangible play-and-learning system developed to stimulate the language and communication skills of toddlers (with a developmental age between 1 and 4 years) with multiple disabilities. The typical characteristics of these children and their common learning environment call for intelligent systems that are quickly and easily adaptable, or, even better, adjust themselves proactively. Over the last two and a half years we have designed and tested such a system within LinguaBytes. In this paper we will outline starting points, indicate the opportunities of Tangible Interaction and finally give an overview of the current LinguaBytes prototype.

Designing for diversity: developing complex adaptive tangible products

Interactive products can help very young multi-handicapped children (1-4 years) develop their language and communication skills, under the condition that they are optimally tuned to the individual child. This has great consequences for design, since this kind of interactive products need to be adaptive to the childs development, possibilities, interests and needs. There are currently hardly any guidelines for designing adaptive interactive tangible products for such a heterogeneous user group. Through LinguaBytes, a three-year research project aimed at the development of an adaptive interactive toy for stimulating language and communication skills of multi-handicapped toddlers, we want to establish a theoretical framework, including guidelines and tools, for designing complex interactive products.

The development of LinguaBytes: an interactive tangible play and learning system to stimulate the language development of toddlers with multiple disabilities

Young children with multiple disabilities (e.g., both cognitive and motor disabilities) are confronted with severe limitations in language development from birth and later on. Stimulating the adult-child communication can decrease these limitations. Within LinguaBytes, a three-year research program, we try to stimulate language development by developing an interactive and adaptive play and learning environment, incorporating tangible objects and multimedia content, based on interactive storytelling and anchored instruction. The development of a product for such a heterogeneous user group presents substantial challenges. We use a Research-through-Design method, that is, an iterative process of developing subsequent experiential prototypes and then testing them in real-life settings, for example, a center for rehabilitation medicine. This article gives an outline of the development of the LinguaBytes play and learning environment from the earliest studies up to the current prototype, CLICK-IT.

Wrapping up LinguaBytes, for now

In this paper we present the final research prototype of LinguaBytes, a tangible interface aimed at stimulating the language development of non- or hardly speaking children between 1 and 4 years old. LinguaBytes was developed in a three-year Research through Design process in which five incremental prototypes were designed, built and evaluated in real-life settings. In this paper we present the original starting points of the project, describe our method and illustrate the resulting end-design using example scenarios of use. We give an overview of the most significant findings at the ten-month evaluation moment, after which we reflect on the original starting points and assess whether they hold up.

Let me actuate you

In this paper we focus on two aspects of Tangible Interaction that have our particular interest: 1) the added value of tangibility when designing interfaces for toddlers and 2) the value of actuators. Especially the latter is something that in our opinion has been under-investigated within the field of Tangible and Embedded Interaction. In this paper we will address the abovementioned topics by giving examples from the LinguaBytes project, which is aimed at developing an intelligent interactive play and learning environment for toddlers with multiple disabilities. These two aspects of Tangible Interaction have our particular interest since we see that multi-handicapped children could benefit highly from Tangible Interaction, but often lack the necessary bodily skills. Using actuators could offer these children possibilities to become more autonomous, thus enhancing their self-esteem and motivation. We feel that our work could not only benefit multi-handicapped toddlers in particular, but could also be used to design interactions that are more respectful to heterogeneous users in general.

Composing Interaction: Exploring Tangible Notation Systems For Design

In this paper we discuss our recent research into notation systems for interaction design. Inspired by music notation - a standardized yet open system with which a composition (i.e., a musical design) can be communicated - we suspect that similar notation systems can be designed for interaction design. We describe our research approach to this suspicion and describe several outcomes of our research, which all lean heavily on tangibility, manipulability and shareability.

Slots-story: facilitate inter-generational life story sharing and preservation of the elderly.

In this paper, we present Slots-story, a system consisting a slots machine-like device and a flash disk, aiming to facilitate intergenerational story sharing and preservation. The former is used by the elderly, which builds on metaphor of slots machine, and integrates functions of memory cue generator, story recording and preservation. In the flash disk, by default there are 40 trigger questions covering most aspects of an entire life course, and which could be customized by the young. The flash disk is also used to preserve story audios. Desgin requirements and opportunities are defined in contexual inquiry. Preliminary evaluation is conducted, discussion and future work are in the final part.

Designing within Connected Systems

In this two-day workshop, we investigate how to design in the context of distributed, networked interfaces, dynamic input-output mappings and emergent aesthetics. With this workshop, we aim to complement the theoretical discussion of positions provided by the participants with the hands-on activity of designing and building a networked group interface for music manipulation using Leap Motion® controllers. Participants engage in a two-stage design process, the first focused on designing individual music controllers and the second on using these in a networked format. We conclude the workshop with a reflection and discussion of what was achieved at both theoretical and experiential levels, and project a roadmap of future activities together.

Interactive Gallery: Enhance Social Interaction for Elders by Story Sharing

At present, the most effective way to deal with the demographic shift of elders is encouraging them to live in nursing homes for more effective health care. However, such move dramatically increases their risk of social isolation. A contextual inquiry in a local nursing home revealed that most elderly people have few connections with the outside environment because of their decreased mobility and have difficulty establishing relationships with fellow residents. In addition, they show great interests in sharing stories. Based on the above findings, we present Interactive Gallery, a system consisting of a cluster of specially designed camera kits and a gallery-like interactive installation utilized with the metaphor of gallery and postcards. This system aims to make the elders feel more connected to the outside environment, stimulate them to reminisce, and further facilitate their sharing of stories with fellow residents and citizens from local communities.

DOK: Enhancing Child Patient Empowerment

In this paper we present DOK, a tangible conversation tool aimed at empowering child patients during medical triads. Current medical triads tend to exclude child patients, making them bystanders of their own illness: triads are highly wordy, cognition-heavy and mostly take place between doctor and parent. In this ongoing research we aim to develop a tool that empowers child patients by allowing them more input and initiative in the conversation. We present our theoretical backbone, point out opportunities for tangibles, and describe the current version of DOK.