2018
Fan, Min, Baishya, Uddipana, Mclaren, Elgin-Skye, Antle, Alissa N., Sarker, Shubhra, Vincent, Amal
Block Talks: A Tangible and Augmented Reality Toolkit for Children to Learn Sentence Construction Proceedings Article
In: Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–6, Association for Computing Machinery, Montreal QC, Canada, 2018, ISBN: 9781450356213.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: augmented reality, blocks, children, colour cues, sentence construction, Tangible User Interfaces
@inproceedings{10.1145/3170427.3188576,
title = {Block Talks: A Tangible and Augmented Reality Toolkit for Children to Learn Sentence Construction},
author = {Min Fan and Uddipana Baishya and Elgin-Skye Mclaren and Alissa N. Antle and Shubhra Sarker and Amal Vincent},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3188576},
doi = {10.1145/3170427.3188576},
isbn = {9781450356213},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {1–6},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Montreal QC, Canada},
series = {CHI EA '18},
abstract = {The Block Talks toolkit combines the educational potential of tangible computing and augmented reality (AR) technologies to help children learn English sentence construction. Although examples of tangible AR reading systems for children currently exist, few focus specifically on learning sentence structure. Block Talks was developed using ordinary teaching supplies including letter tiles and blocks that can be manipulated to form words and sentences. A companion app allows children to scan these sentences to receive audio and AR feedback. Block Talks takes advantage of colour cues to draw children's attention to sentence structure patterns. This paper outlines existing tangible and AR systems for literacy learning, details the Block Talks design rationale, and concludes with a discussion of the advantages of using a combined tangible and AR approach for teaching sentence construction.},
keywords = {augmented reality, blocks, children, colour cues, sentence construction, Tangible User Interfaces},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The Block Talks toolkit combines the educational potential of tangible computing and augmented reality (AR) technologies to help children learn English sentence construction. Although examples of tangible AR reading systems for children currently exist, few focus specifically on learning sentence structure. Block Talks was developed using ordinary teaching supplies including letter tiles and blocks that can be manipulated to form words and sentences. A companion app allows children to scan these sentences to receive audio and AR feedback. Block Talks takes advantage of colour cues to draw children's attention to sentence structure patterns. This paper outlines existing tangible and AR systems for literacy learning, details the Block Talks design rationale, and concludes with a discussion of the advantages of using a combined tangible and AR approach for teaching sentence construction.
Fan, Min, Jin, Sheng, Antle, Alissa N.
Designing Colours and Materials in Tangible Reading Products for Foreign Language Learners of English Proceedings Article
In: Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–6, Association for Computing Machinery, Montreal QC, Canada, 2018, ISBN: 9781450356213.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: colours, design implications, english foreign language learners, materials, reading, Tangible User Interfaces
@inproceedings{10.1145/3170427.3188577,
title = {Designing Colours and Materials in Tangible Reading Products for Foreign Language Learners of English},
author = {Min Fan and Sheng Jin and Alissa N. Antle},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3188577},
doi = {10.1145/3170427.3188577},
isbn = {9781450356213},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {1–6},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Montreal QC, Canada},
series = {CHI EA '18},
abstract = {One design challenge of tangible reading systems is how to leverage the design of physical properties to best support the learning process. In this paper, we present an exploratory study which investigated how 18 young adults who learn English as a foreign language associated colours and materials to English letter-sound pairs. The preliminary results indicate that the letter-sound-colour mappings are influenced mainly by the literacy meaning of the letters while the letter-sound-material mappings are strongly affected by the characteristics of letter sounds. We discuss the design implications and future work for designing tangible reading systems for foreign language learners.},
keywords = {colours, design implications, english foreign language learners, materials, reading, Tangible User Interfaces},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
One design challenge of tangible reading systems is how to leverage the design of physical properties to best support the learning process. In this paper, we present an exploratory study which investigated how 18 young adults who learn English as a foreign language associated colours and materials to English letter-sound pairs. The preliminary results indicate that the letter-sound-colour mappings are influenced mainly by the literacy meaning of the letters while the letter-sound-material mappings are strongly affected by the characteristics of letter sounds. We discuss the design implications and future work for designing tangible reading systems for foreign language learners.
2017
Fan, Min, Antle, Alissa N., Hoskyn, Maureen, Neustaedter, Carman, Cramer, Emily S.
Why Tangibility Matters: A Design Case Study of At-Risk Children Learning to Read and Spell Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1805–1816, Association for Computing Machinery, Denver, Colorado, USA, 2017, ISBN: 9781450346559.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: children, Dyslexia, embedded interaction, mixed-methods., phonoblocks, Reading acquisition, Tangible User Interfaces
@inproceedings{10.1145/3025453.3026048,
title = {Why Tangibility Matters: A Design Case Study of At-Risk Children Learning to Read and Spell},
author = {Min Fan and Alissa N. Antle and Maureen Hoskyn and Carman Neustaedter and Emily S. Cramer},
url = {https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1145/3025453.3026048},
doi = {10.1145/3025453.3026048},
isbn = {9781450346559},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
urldate = {2017-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {1805–1816},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Denver, Colorado, USA},
series = {CHI '17},
abstract = {Tangibles may be effective for reading applications. Letters can be represented as 3D physical objects. Words are spatially organized collections of letters. We explore how tangibility impacts reading and spelling acquisition for young Anglophone children who have dyslexia. We describe our theory-based design rationale and present a mixed-methods case study of eight children using our PhonoBlocks system. All children made significant gains in reading and spelling on trained and untrained (new) words, and could apply all spelling rules a month later. We discuss the design features of our system that contributed to effective learning processes, resulting in successful learning outcomes: dynamic colour cues embedded in 3D letters, which can draw attention to how letter(s) position changes their sounds; and the form of 3D tangible letters, which can enforce correct letter orientation and enable epistemic strategies in letter organization that simplify spelling tasks. We conclude with design guidelines for tangible reading systems.},
keywords = {children, Dyslexia, embedded interaction, mixed-methods., phonoblocks, Reading acquisition, Tangible User Interfaces},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Tangibles may be effective for reading applications. Letters can be represented as 3D physical objects. Words are spatially organized collections of letters. We explore how tangibility impacts reading and spelling acquisition for young Anglophone children who have dyslexia. We describe our theory-based design rationale and present a mixed-methods case study of eight children using our PhonoBlocks system. All children made significant gains in reading and spelling on trained and untrained (new) words, and could apply all spelling rules a month later. We discuss the design features of our system that contributed to effective learning processes, resulting in successful learning outcomes: dynamic colour cues embedded in 3D letters, which can draw attention to how letter(s) position changes their sounds; and the form of 3D tangible letters, which can enforce correct letter orientation and enable epistemic strategies in letter organization that simplify spelling tasks. We conclude with design guidelines for tangible reading systems.
2016
Fan, Min, Antle, Alissa N., Cramer, Emily S.
Design Rationale: Opportunities and Recommendations for Tangible Reading Systems for Children Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, pp. 101–112, Association for Computing Machinery, Manchester, United Kingdom, 2016, ISBN: 9781450343138.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: children, design rationale, Dyslexia, literacy, phonoblocks, reading, spelling, Tangible User Interfaces
@inproceedings{10.1145/2930674.2930690,
title = {Design Rationale: Opportunities and Recommendations for Tangible Reading Systems for Children},
author = {Min Fan and Alissa N. Antle and Emily S. Cramer},
url = {https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1145/2930674.2930690},
doi = {10.1145/2930674.2930690},
isbn = {9781450343138},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
urldate = {2016-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children},
pages = {101–112},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Manchester, United Kingdom},
series = {IDC '16},
abstract = {Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have been suggested to have the potential to support learning for children. Despite the increasing number of TUI reading systems there are few design guidelines for children, especially for those with dyslexia (a specific difficulty in language acquisition skills). In this paper we discuss four design opportunities and five design recommendations for designing tangible reading systems for children, particularly those with dyslexia. We ground our analysis using theories of the causes and interventions for dyslexia, best multisensory training practices and existing research on TUIs that support learning to read for children. We describe our tangible reading system, called PhonoBlocks, focusing on two core design features which take advantage of these opportunities. We also describe how we iteratively fine-tuned the details of our design based on our recommendations, an expert review and feedback from tutors who work with children with dyslexia every day. We include a discussion of design trade-offs in our process. This design rationale paper contributes to the growing research on designing tangible spelling and reading systems for children.},
keywords = {children, design rationale, Dyslexia, literacy, phonoblocks, reading, spelling, Tangible User Interfaces},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have been suggested to have the potential to support learning for children. Despite the increasing number of TUI reading systems there are few design guidelines for children, especially for those with dyslexia (a specific difficulty in language acquisition skills). In this paper we discuss four design opportunities and five design recommendations for designing tangible reading systems for children, particularly those with dyslexia. We ground our analysis using theories of the causes and interventions for dyslexia, best multisensory training practices and existing research on TUIs that support learning to read for children. We describe our tangible reading system, called PhonoBlocks, focusing on two core design features which take advantage of these opportunities. We also describe how we iteratively fine-tuned the details of our design based on our recommendations, an expert review and feedback from tutors who work with children with dyslexia every day. We include a discussion of design trade-offs in our process. This design rationale paper contributes to the growing research on designing tangible spelling and reading systems for children.
2015
Antle, Alissa N., Fan, Min, Cramer, Emily S.
PhonoBlocks: A Tangible System for Supporting Dyslexic Children Learning to Read Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, pp. 533–538, Association for Computing Machinery, Stanford, California, USA, 2015, ISBN: 9781450333054.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: children, colour cues, Dyslexia, orton-gillingham, reading, tangible computing, Tangible User Interfaces
@inproceedings{10.1145/2677199.2687897,
title = {PhonoBlocks: A Tangible System for Supporting Dyslexic Children Learning to Read},
author = {Alissa N. Antle and Min Fan and Emily S. Cramer},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/2677199.2687897},
doi = {10.1145/2677199.2687897},
isbn = {9781450333054},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction},
pages = {533–538},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Stanford, California, USA},
series = {TEI '15},
abstract = {Dyslexia is defined as severe difficulty learning to read. It affects about 10% of the population in English speaking countries. Severe difficulty learning to read is correlated with tremendous emotional, social and economic costs. In this paper, we describe PhonoBlocks, a tangible user interface to a reading system that uses dynamic colour cues embedded in 3D tangible letters to provide additional decoding information and modalities. PhonoBlocks was developed to support children, aged 5-8 years old, who are having difficulty learning to decode English letter-sound pairs. We present the theoretical foundations as rationale for our core design strategies and decisions. We discuss the assumptions in our design rationale and describe how we will validate our system working with a school for dyslexic children.},
keywords = {children, colour cues, Dyslexia, orton-gillingham, reading, tangible computing, Tangible User Interfaces},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Dyslexia is defined as severe difficulty learning to read. It affects about 10% of the population in English speaking countries. Severe difficulty learning to read is correlated with tremendous emotional, social and economic costs. In this paper, we describe PhonoBlocks, a tangible user interface to a reading system that uses dynamic colour cues embedded in 3D tangible letters to provide additional decoding information and modalities. PhonoBlocks was developed to support children, aged 5-8 years old, who are having difficulty learning to decode English letter-sound pairs. We present the theoretical foundations as rationale for our core design strategies and decisions. We discuss the assumptions in our design rationale and describe how we will validate our system working with a school for dyslexic children.
Fan, Min, Antle, Alissa N.
Tactile Letters: A Tangible Tabletop with Texture Cues Supporting Alphabetic Learning for Dyslexic Children Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, pp. 673–678, Association for Computing Machinery, Stanford, California, USA, 2015, ISBN: 9781450333054.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: children, Dyslexia, material, reading, Tangible User Interfaces, texture cues
@inproceedings{10.1145/2677199.2688806,
title = {Tactile Letters: A Tangible Tabletop with Texture Cues Supporting Alphabetic Learning for Dyslexic Children},
author = {Min Fan and Alissa N. Antle},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/2677199.2688806},
doi = {10.1145/2677199.2688806},
isbn = {9781450333054},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction},
pages = {673–678},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Stanford, California, USA},
series = {TEI '15},
abstract = {Dyslexic children have great difficulty in learning to read. While research in HCI suggests that tangible user interfaces (TUIs) have the potential to support children learning to read, few studies have explored how to help dyslexic children learn to read. Even fewer studies have specifically investigated the design space of texture cues in TUIs in supporting learning to read. In this paper, we present Tactile Letters, a multimodal tangible tabletop with texture cues developed to support English letter-sound correspondence learning for dyslexic children aged 5-6 years old. This prototype is used as a research instrument to investigate the role of texture cues in a multimodal TUI in alphabetic learning. We discuss the current knowledge gap, the theoretical foundations that informed our core design strategy, and the subsequent design decisions we made while developing Tactile Letters.},
keywords = {children, Dyslexia, material, reading, Tangible User Interfaces, texture cues},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Dyslexic children have great difficulty in learning to read. While research in HCI suggests that tangible user interfaces (TUIs) have the potential to support children learning to read, few studies have explored how to help dyslexic children learn to read. Even fewer studies have specifically investigated the design space of texture cues in TUIs in supporting learning to read. In this paper, we present Tactile Letters, a multimodal tangible tabletop with texture cues developed to support English letter-sound correspondence learning for dyslexic children aged 5-6 years old. This prototype is used as a research instrument to investigate the role of texture cues in a multimodal TUI in alphabetic learning. We discuss the current knowledge gap, the theoretical foundations that informed our core design strategy, and the subsequent design decisions we made while developing Tactile Letters.
2014
Fan, Min, Antle, Alissa N., Neustaedter, Carman, Wise, Alyssa F.
Exploring How a Co-Dependent Tangible Tool Design Supports Collaboration in a Tabletop Activity Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, pp. 81–90, Association for Computing Machinery, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA, 2014, ISBN: 9781450330435.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: co-dependent access points, Collaboration, digital tabletop, event table, interactive surfaces, Tangible User Interfaces, young adults.
@inproceedings{10.1145/2660398.2660402,
title = {Exploring How a Co-Dependent Tangible Tool Design Supports Collaboration in a Tabletop Activity},
author = {Min Fan and Alissa N. Antle and Carman Neustaedter and Alyssa F. Wise},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/2660398.2660402},
doi = {10.1145/2660398.2660402},
isbn = {9781450330435},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
urldate = {2014-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work},
pages = {81–90},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Sanibel Island, Florida, USA},
series = {GROUP '14},
abstract = {Many studies suggest that tangibles and digital tabletops have potential to support collaborative interaction. However, previous findings show that users often work in parallel with such systems. One design strategy that may encourage collaboration rather than parallel use involves creating a system that responds to co-dependent access points in which more than one action is required to create a successful system response. To better understand how co-dependent access points support collaboration, we designed a comparative study with 12 young adults using the same application with a co-dependent and an independent access point design. We collected and analyzed categories of both verbal and behavioural data in the two conditions. Our results show support for the co-dependent strategy and suggest ways that the co-dependent design can be used to support flexible collaboration on tangible tabletops for young adults.},
keywords = {co-dependent access points, Collaboration, digital tabletop, event table, interactive surfaces, Tangible User Interfaces, young adults.},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Many studies suggest that tangibles and digital tabletops have potential to support collaborative interaction. However, previous findings show that users often work in parallel with such systems. One design strategy that may encourage collaboration rather than parallel use involves creating a system that responds to co-dependent access points in which more than one action is required to create a successful system response. To better understand how co-dependent access points support collaboration, we designed a comparative study with 12 young adults using the same application with a co-dependent and an independent access point design. We collected and analyzed categories of both verbal and behavioural data in the two conditions. Our results show support for the co-dependent strategy and suggest ways that the co-dependent design can be used to support flexible collaboration on tangible tabletops for young adults.