TY - GEN
T1 - Comparing the use of tangible and graphical programming languages for informal science education
AU - Horn, Michael S.
AU - Solovey, Erin T.
AU - Crouser, R. Jordan
AU - Jacob, Robert J K
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Much of the work done in the field of tangible interaction has focused on creating tools for learning; however, in many cases, little evidence has been provided that tangible interfaces offer educational benefits compared to more conventional interaction techniques. In this paper, we present a study comparing the use of a tangible and a graphical interface as part of an interactive computer programming and robotics exhibit that we designed for the Boston Museum of Science. In this study, we have collected observations of 260 museum visitors and conducted interviews with 13 family groups. Our results show that visitors found the tangible and the graphical systems equally easy to understand. However, with the tangible interface, visitors were significantly more likely to try the exhibit and significantly more likely to actively participate in groups. In turn, we show that regardless of the condition, involving multiple active participants leads to significantly longer interaction times. Finally, we examine the role of children and adults in each condition and present evidence that children are more actively involved in the tangible condition, an effect that seems to be especially strong for girls.
AB - Much of the work done in the field of tangible interaction has focused on creating tools for learning; however, in many cases, little evidence has been provided that tangible interfaces offer educational benefits compared to more conventional interaction techniques. In this paper, we present a study comparing the use of a tangible and a graphical interface as part of an interactive computer programming and robotics exhibit that we designed for the Boston Museum of Science. In this study, we have collected observations of 260 museum visitors and conducted interviews with 13 family groups. Our results show that visitors found the tangible and the graphical systems equally easy to understand. However, with the tangible interface, visitors were significantly more likely to try the exhibit and significantly more likely to actively participate in groups. In turn, we show that regardless of the condition, involving multiple active participants leads to significantly longer interaction times. Finally, we examine the role of children and adults in each condition and present evidence that children are more actively involved in the tangible condition, an effect that seems to be especially strong for girls.
KW - Children
KW - Education
KW - Informal science education
KW - Museums
KW - Programming languages
KW - Tangible user interfaces
KW - Tern
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84892466764&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84892466764&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1145/1518701.1518851
DO - 10.1145/1518701.1518851
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84892466764
SN - 9781605582474
T3 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
SP - 975
EP - 984
BT - CHI 2009
T2 - 27th International Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2009
Y2 - 4 April 2009 through 9 April 2009
ER -