REPORT 12:
Literature Review in Learning
with Tangible Technologies
A Report for Futurelab
Claire O’Malley, Learning Sciences Research Institute,
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
Danae Stanton Fraser, Department of Psychology, University of Bath
FOREWORD
When we think of digital technologies in
schools, we tend to think of computers,
keyboards, sometimes laptops, and more
recently whiteboards and data projectors.
These tools are becoming part of the
familiar educational landscape. Outside
the walls of the classroom, however,
there are significant changes in how we
think about digital technologies – or, to be
more precise, how we don’t think about
them, as they disappear into our clothes,
our fridges, our cars and our city streets.
This disappearing technology, blended
seamlessly into the everyday objects
of our lives, has become known as
‘ubiquitous computing’. Which leads
us to ask the question: what would a
school look like in which the technology
disappeared seamlessly into the everyday
objects and artefacts of the classroom?
This review is an attempt to explore
this question. It maps out the recent
technological developments in the field, |
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discusses evidence from educational
research and psychology, and provides
an overview of a wide range of
challenging projects that have attempted
to use such ‘disappearing computers’
(or tangible interfaces) in education –
from digitally augmented paper, toys
that remember the ways in which a child
moves them, to playmats that record
and play back children’s stories. The
review challenges us to think differently
about our future visions for educational
technology, and begins to map out a
framework within which we can ask
how best we might use these new
approaches to computing for learning.
As always, we are keen to hear
your comments on this review
at research@futurelab.org.uk
Keri Facer
Director of Learning Research
Futurelab |
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CONTENTS:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
SECTION 2
TANGIBLE USER
INTERFACES: NEW
FORMS OF INTERACTIVITY
SECTION 3
WHY MIGHT TANGIBLE
TECHNOLOGIES BENEFIT
LEARNING?
SECTION 4
CASE STUDIES OF LEARNING
WITH TANGIBLES
SECTION 5
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS
FOR FUTURE RESEARCH,
APPLICATIONS, POLICY
AND PRACTICE
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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FUTURELAB SERIES
