TIEboard: A Digital Educational Tool for Kids Geometric Learning

TL;DR

TIEboard is an innovative digital educational tool that combines tangible interfaces and interactive feedback to enhance early geometry learning, creativity, and collaboration among young children.

Contribution

The paper introduces TIEboard, a novel interactive device inspired by traditional tools, integrating real-time feedback and multiple interaction modes for early geometry education.

Findings

TIEboard effectively supports geometric concept acquisition.

Children showed increased engagement and creativity.

The device facilitated collaborative learning among young users.

Abstract

Tangible User Interfaces have shown potential in supporting the acquisition of key concepts in computing and mathematics while fostering engagement in young learners, but these approaches are less commonly utilised in the context of geometry. In this paper we introduce TIEboard, an interactive device to promote early learning of basic geometry concepts. TIEboard draws inspiration from traditional geoboards and lacing toys to leverage children's familiarity with these traditional tools. It employs instructional lights to guide children in creating shapes using colourful threads of optical fiber. The use of conductive materials allows the system to detect lacing activity and provide feedback in real-time. TIEboard incorporates six interaction modes of varying difficulty based on an incremental learning framework. The study evaluated TIEboard's effectiveness in supporting early geometric learning, facilitating creativity and promoting collaboration among 16 children aged 5-9.