Volume 17, Issue 3 - Special Issue "Tangible Interaction and its Applications"

This paper describes the results from a comparative study with 14 pupils using two different versions of a tangible tabletop application on satellite communication. While one of the versions was designed in a way to allow the resolution of the tasks in a pure trial-and-error approach, the second version prevented this by adding a button which had to be pressed in order to calculate and display results. The results of the study show that the design of the button and the associated scoring system was indeed successful in slowing down interactions and increasing thinking time. However, the knowledge acquisition was lower for the version with the button as compared to the one supporting trial-and-error. We discuss the results of this study and, in particular, argue for the need to carefully balance usability, task complexity and the learning dimension in the design of interactive tabletops for learning.

While manipulatives have played an important role in children’s mathematics development for decades, employing tangible objects together with digital systems in the classroom has been rarely explored yet. In a transdisciplinary research project with computer scientists, mathematics educators and a textbook publisher, we investigate the potentials of using tangible user interfaces for algebra learning and develop as well as evaluate a scalable system for different use cases. In this paper, we present design implications for tangible user interfaces for algebra learning that were derived from a comprehensive field study in a grade 9 classroom and an expert study with textbook authors, who also are teachers. Furthermore, we present and discuss the resulting system design.

We propose a framework of Interaction Design for Reflective Experience (RED). “Begreifbare” (graspable, in the sense of tangible and comprehensible) learning environments embody a designed experience that combines abstraction and concreteness, perception and cognition, and thus emphasizes both the impact of tangible, embodied interactions and the importance of symbols and signs for reflective experience. Our framework is based on the categories of space and experience, model and reflection.

Current asynchronous (e. g., email) or synchronous (e. g., video-conferencing) communication methods in the workspace can be obtrusive and fail to mimic spontaneous interpersonal communication. This can cause difficulties in forming close relationships among working colleagues. To examine this problem, we conducted a needs assessment study consisting of an online survey, a focus group, and a co-design session to gather a set of system requirements and metaphors as a base for future system designs. Based on the results, we designed two metaphor-based ambient tangible systems to support awareness among working colleagues: AwareCups and AwareHouse . Furthermore, we evaluated these systems in a short field study with 22 participants and found that both systems are highly intuitive and easy to use. We discuss the solution space for metaphor-based tangible awareness systems and the effects of the outcomes on the potential increase of awareness among colleagues.

What will future creativity-based work in collaboration with ubiquitous, AI-driven systems be like? In this paper, we argue that following a ‘tangible interaction’ approach can be beneficial in this context. We describe six connected objects that illustrate how the quality of future creative work could be designed. The objects aim to shape embedded computation in ways that support embodied interaction. They include a place for sacrificing one’s phone, an olfactory calendar, a reader/writer for cloud data in everyday objects, a concrete-based data logger, a slot machine for recombining old ideas into new ones, and a dimmer for artificial intelligence. We summarize the results of a critical reflection of the prototypes in an argument for designing interactions that foster collaborative creative processes between embodied humans in a world of embedded computation.

Novel shape-changing interfaces promise to provide a rich haptic experience for human-computer interaction. As a specific instance of shape-changing interfaces, Elastic Displays provide large interaction surfaces that can be temporally deformed using force-touch. The unique property of these displays is that they automatically return to their initial flat state. Recently, several review and position papers have stimulated a discussion towards consolidating the knowledge about shape-changing interfaces. The knowledge about Elastic Displays is similarly scattered across multiple publications from recent years. This paper contributes a task taxonomy based on productive uses of Elastic Displays found in literature, on the web, and in our interaction lab. This taxonomy emphasizes tasks, but also encompasses general aspects regarding content types, visualization technology, and interaction styles. All aspects of the taxonomy are illustrated using case studies from literature.