Fractangi: A Tangible Learning Environment for Learning about Fractions with an Interactive Number Line.
Tangible user interfaces (TUIs) are frequently used to teach children abstract concepts, in science and mathematics. TUIs offer a natural and immediate form of interaction that promotes active and hands on engagement and allows for exploration and reflection. Tangible objects are representational artifacts in their essence, and they increase the representational power, which is a much needed quality in fraction teaching. By exploiting research into the external representations for learning, tangibles and embodied learning, we have designed an interactive tangible number line, named Fractangi, as a conceptual metaphor for helping students to understand and exploit fractions by acting with their hands. A pilot study was conducted in a Department of Primary Education with 65 undergraduate students in order to extract preservice teachers' views on the usability and learning effectiveness of the proposed tangible interface. Preservice teachers' views were extremely positive, in regards both to the context of usage (tangibility, gamification) and to the content of the interaction (learning interactions were considered better than traditional forms of teaching) Fractangi seems able to transform an unpopular learning topic to an enjoyable learning experience.