S Saskia Bakker

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.

Peripheral interaction: characteristics and considerations

In everyday life, we are able to perceive information and perform physical actions in the background or periphery of attention. Inspired by this observation, several researchers have studied interactive systems that display digital information in the periphery of attention. To broaden the scope of this research direction, a few recent studies have focused on interactive systems that can not only be perceived in the background but also enable users to physically interact with digital information in their periphery. Such peripheral interaction designs can support computing technology to fluently embed in and become a meaningful part of people’s everyday routines. With the increasing ubiquity of technology in our everyday environment, we believe that this direction is highly relevant nowadays. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of three case studies on peripheral interaction. These case studies involved the design and development of peripheral interactive systems and deployment of these systems in the real context of use for a number of weeks. Based on the insights gained through these case studies, we discuss generalized characteristics and considerations for peripheral interaction design and evaluation. The aim of the work presented in this paper is to support interaction design researchers and practitioners in anticipating and facilitating peripheral interaction with the designs they are evaluating or developing.

Identifying embodied metaphors in children's sound-action mappings

Physical activity and manipulating physical objects can be beneficial for learning. Earlier studies [2] have shown that interaction models that rely on unconscious and embodied knowledge (based on embodied metaphors) can benefit the learning process. However, more than one embodied metaphor might be applicable. In this paper, we present the results of a user study (n=65) designed to identify embodied metaphors seven to nine year old children use when enacting abstract concepts related to musical sound. The results provide evidence that multiple different embodied metaphors can unconsciously be used to structure the understanding of these concepts. In addition, we have identified and categorized commonly used metaphors based on the childrens enactments of changing sound concepts.

MoSo tangibles: evaluating embodied learning

Using tangible interaction in interactive educational systems can benefit learning. This can be supported by relying on experientially originating schemata in the interaction design of learning systems. This paper presents the design and evaluation of MoSo Tangibles, a set of interactive, physical artifacts with which children manipulate the pitch, volume and tempo of ongoing tones, in order to structure their understanding of these abstract sound concepts in terms of multiple different concrete body-based concepts. The results indicate that MoSo provided children with a physical handle to reason about the targeted abstract concepts.

OPOS: an observation scheme for evaluating head-up play

The concept of Head-Up Games [18] advocates that pervasive games of the future should be designed to evoke play patterns akin to those of traditional outdoor games. This tenet, while appealing, is ill defined without a clear description of these behaviors. Below we introduce OPOS, an observation scheme that can be used to evaluate Head-Up Games and, more generally, outdoor pervasive games intended for children. The observation scheme has been evaluated through its application in observing play with traditional outdoor games and a purpose made Head-Up Game. The study involved 24 children of 10--11 years old; it was found that the proposed observation scheme is objective and reliable, helping evaluators compare pervasive games regarding the play behaviors they provoke.

Tangible interaction in tabletop games: studying iconic and symbolic play pieces

In this paper, a study is described which investigates differences in game experience between the use of iconic and symbolic tangibles in digital tabletop interaction. To enable this study, a new game together with two sets of play pieces (iconic and symbolic) was developed and used in an experiment with 30 participants. In this experiment, the understanding of the game, the understanding of the play pieces and the fun experience were tested. Both the group who played with iconic play pieces and the group who played with symbolic play pieces were proven to have a comparable fun experience and understanding of the game. However, the understanding of the play pieces was higher in the iconic group and a large majority of both groups preferred to play with iconic play pieces rather then symbolic play pieces.

Exploring peripheral interaction design for primary school teachers

This paper explores the concept of peripheral interactions; interactions with technology that take place in the background or periphery of the attention. We present two designs for a classroom setting. CawClock makes selected time frames audible in order to provide teachers with awareness of time. NoteLet is designed to support the teacher in observing childrens behavior, by enabling him or her to take pictures of the classroom through straightforward interactions on a bracelet. A qualitative, two-week exploration of both systems in a classroom revealed that the soundscapes of CawClock indeed shifted to the periphery of the attention and supported the teachers time awareness. The actions with NoteLet did not shift to the periphery. However, the tangible aspects of NoteLet seemed to facilitate the interaction to be quick and simple, which may indicate that it could shift to the periphery with more practice. Tangible interaction therefore seems a promising interaction style for this purpose.

Acting by hand: Informing interaction design for the periphery of people's attention

Interactions in and with the physical world have enabled us to perform everyday activities in the periphery of our attention. Even though digital technologies are becoming increasingly present in the everyday environment, interaction with these technologies usually requires peoples focused attention. In the realm of the vision of calm technology, we think that designing interactions with the digital world inspired by our peripheral interaction with the physical world, will enable digital technologies to better blend into our everyday lives. However, for such interaction design to be effective, a detailed understanding of the everyday periphery is required. In this paper, we therefore present a qualitative study on everyday activities that may take place in the periphery of the attention. We provide a broad range of examples of such everyday activities and cluster them to present the conditions under which they may be performed peripherally. Furthermore, we discuss how our findings may be relevant for the design of peripheral interactions with digital technologies, and present two conceptual designs that are based on our findings.

FireFlies: supporting primary school teachers through open-ended interaction design

Primary school teachers usually perform several tasks simultaneously. Many secondary tasks, such as giving turns or encouraging children to work silently, could be supported by interactive systems, which may lighten the teachers busy everyday routine. Such systems however, should afford being interacted with while performing another primary task. We call this type of design peripheral interaction design. In this paper we present FireFlies, an open-ended peripheral interaction design developed for primary schools. Preliminary results of a six week deployment of FireFlies in four classrooms, reveal that teachers used FireFlies to perform secondary tasks and saw it as a valuable addition to the classroom. Though different interactions with FireFlies required different levels of effort, teachers could successfully interact with FireFlies during or in between other tasks.

Knowing by ear: leveraging human attention abilities in interaction design

In a world in which intelligent technologies are integrated in everyday objects and environments, users are at risk of being overburdened with information and interaction possibilities. Calm technology therefore aims at designing interactions that may reside in the periphery of the user’s attention and only shift to the center of the attention when required. However, for such designs to be effective, a detailed understanding of human attention abilities is needed. In this paper, we therefore present a qualitative study on the everyday periphery of the attention. As we expected, we found that sound plays a major role in this, which supports our approach to use interactive sonification as an interaction style for peripheral interaction. We present a range of rich examples of everyday situations that lay out the design space for peripheral interaction and support these findings by describing three initial designs that use interactive sonification for peripheral interaction.