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Yanhong Li, Nina Corz, Tobias Maximilian Marschall
Interactive Metaphor Interfaces for Young Children to Learn Color Mixing and Music Composition
International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS)

Playful and collaborative learning tools facilitate childrenâs learning. In this study, we conceptualized and explored two tangible user interfaces named Paint-Matics and Slimo using traces of use. The prototype has two parts: a tablet application implementing the digital trace idea and three unique pressure-sensitive slime boards. Children used their fingers to press the slime boards collaboratively to get their desired colors or tones. Ephemeral physical traces of use from a child and the other two children support their learning and understanding of color and music composition. We did two small user studies with nine children for Slimo and two for Paint-Matics. Our designs aim to help children: (1) learn how to count and perform basic mathematical operations in an interactive and collaborative way; (2) learn the concepts of color mixing and music composition. Main contributions were to: (1) use physical traces as a new tangible interactive metaphor for collaborative learning; (2) present how to make an interactive slim board for the Do It Yourself community; and (3) propose some innovative ideas for future interfaces for children.