TICLE: Tangible Interfaces for Collaborative Learning Environments


A computer human interactive environment that will aid children with their mathematical and problem solving skills was created at the Goudreau Museum in New Hyde Park, Long Island. TICLE or Tangible Interfaces for Collaborative Learning Environments was implemented. Children used this system to help them to try to solve tangram puzzles. Tangrams are Chinese puzzles, consisting of many small shapes making up a big shape. In this case, the main tangram that we will be dealing with is a square made up of seven pieces. The computer monitored their progress in solving the puzzle and supplied hints when needed.

Two tests were conducted in the Goudreau Museum in Long Island. These tests were designed to measure the efficiency of the children interacting with computers. Hints to solve a tangram puzzle were created using a program called director. Specific hints included:

1. Flipping of pieces -
   Purpose: to show the flexibility of a three dimensional puzzle
   Implementation: A puzzle was shown missing one piece. The last piece was turned and flipped until it fit into the hole.



2. Four triangles make a square-
   Purpose: to show mathematically triangles coming together to make a square
   Implementation: one triangle came from each side of the screen until the
   four corners meet in the middle to form a square.



3. Stacking-
   Purpose: to show if you have 2 triangles on top of each other, if you take one off and put it together with the other triangle you can form a square
   Implementation: Two triangles were placed on top of each other and then one triangle was removed and replaced side by side. The resulting shape was a square.
   


4. One triangle is a quarter of a square, two triangles is half.
   Purpose: to teach fractions and shape relations to help solve the tangram
   Implementation: One triangle appeared on the screen, voice input and words appeared saying that one triangle is † of a square. Another triangle joined in forming › a square. The message now read: Two triangles make up › a square.

A lot of time and thought went into each hint. Different colors were used to make each hint more clear and effective. The hardest part of dealing with Director is that it didn't allow you the luxury of flipping the pieces in any direction that you wished. Knowing the angles and degrees were necessary to move the pieces in different directions. This helped us develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of mathematical skills. Voice input was then added to further aid the process. These hints were then installed on the computer in the museum.

The seven pieces that make up the square tangram consist of different sized triangles, squares and parallelograms. The piece that confused most of the children was the parallelogram. Most of them had never seen this shape before, making it harder for them to use it in solving the puzzle.

The children were divided into two categories. Half of the children used the computer to help them solve the puzzle, while the other half tried to solve the puzzle on a flat surface, without any hints. Then all the children were interviewed to tell us their experience in solving the puzzle. Several aspects under observation were collaborative learning, transference of skills, social interaction, development of mathematical spatial skills and most importantly, computer human interaction. Our main goal was to see if the hints that were provided helped the children in solving the puzzle.

Another factor involved in this testing was the use of collaborative learning. Every child was paired with someone. Then in the interviews, the children shared their feelings about working with other people. Most children agreed that working with
someone else was more beneficial than working alone. However, most also agreed that it was best to work with someone that they were friends with. Working with strangers would not be useful or fun.

The subjects of the first test were a group of seven year old boy scouts.
These boys were extremely rowdy and noisy. They were divided into two groups. One group tried to solve the puzzle using the computer to help them when needed. The other group tried to solve the puzzle on a flat surface without any hints. Besides providing hints the computer made the puzzle more exciting to solve. Everyone wanted to use the computer because it was fun and different. The results that we observed was that the children using the computer were much more successful at solving the tangram puzzle. It was also observed that some children worked well together while others did not.

All the children were then asked to solve a tangram in the shape of a house. This was to be done on a flat surface with the outline of the house in front of them. They had no hints to help them. The results were that most of the children were able to solve the puzzle. So, one would think that the transference of skills was very successful. However, there was no distinction between the groups that used the computer and the groups that didn't. Therefore, the question remains; were they able to solve the puzzle because of:

1. transference of skills


2. the puzzle was easier


3. because they worked alone, and they were able to do the puzzle without anyone distracting them.

Another factor that has to be considered is the fact that the house tangram had an outline of the picture, while the square tangram did not. This probably aided in the solving of the puzzle because it let the children know the dimensions of the shape. They knew that they couldn't "color outside of the lines."

The subjects of the second test were a group of girls. The same testing method that was used for the boys was used for the girls. However, it was a little more organized on our part. We installed mikes and tape recorders to be able to hear the conversations of the girls more efficiently. In addition, the hints on the computer were made more context sensitive and a touch screen was implemented.

In comparing the two groups, we observed a difference between the girls and the boys. The boys were more dominating. They all wanted to do what they wanted, when they wanted. On the other hand, the girls allowed each girl her fair chance. However, almost all the children, in both groups agreed that working with someone was very beneficial.

Therefore, collaborative learning plays a huge role in problem solving.

Following the problem solving, each child was individually interviewed and recorded on tape. The children were asked a series of questions to help us determine if the computerized hints were beneficial in helping them solve the puzzle. We were especially interested if the computer aided or distracted them. In addition, the children were asked if they could think of anything else that would help aid the system. Most children agreed that the computer was more beneficial than just physically placing the pieces together.

The results of whether they solved the tangram or not, and how the children interacted with each other was all put on video camera for later observation. After the testing, the tapes were reviewed and analyzed. Each conversation or comment was carefully categorized into different groups such as listening, cognitive thinking, and planning per half-minute. We also saw the exact time that it took the groups to solve the puzzle.

We feel that the hints on the computer aided the children in solving the puzzle. It kept their attention going and motivated them to keep trying. We also installed a voice that said "Good Job." This also gave them confidence that they were doing the puzzle correctly, and that they should continue and not give up. Collaborative learning still remains a big question. Every individual reacts differently to the same situation. If you ask the same question to ten people, you will probably get ten different answers. So, depending on the individual, collaborative learning may be beneficial or detrimental. The collaborative learning factor was taken into consideration beforehand, therefore, we tried to create the most efficient environment possible. However, it was concluded that the benefits of collaborative learning is a continuous argument amongst psychologists, sociologists, and now us.

In conclusion, we believe that the hints on the computer aided in the ability of the children to solve the puzzle. The children found the computer exciting and therefore it kept their attention while motivating them to keep trying. Hopefully, this is the start to many more mathematical problems being solved with the aid of the computer.