Gesture Friendly Interfaces for Classroom Teaching with Thinking Tools

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Gesture Friendly Interfacesfor Classroom
Teachingwith Thinking Tools

• Stephen Chen, George Frempong,
• and William Chris Cudmore
• York University

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Educational Technology

• Support in-class teaching and/or independent
  learning
• Large amount of research and development has
  focused on independent learning
• Learning Objects

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Learning Objects

• Learning Objects are on-line resources dedicated
  to a single topic
• Learning Objects often include thinking tools
  that can engage users into pursuing deeper
  explorations

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Thinking Tools

• Thinking Tools are interactive visual components
  that help users visualize and think about the
  topic
• Features include
• Visual animations
• Interactive feedback
• Dynamic linking

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The Role of Face-to-Face Teaching

• Why are we here today?
• Teaching and learning benefits from the visual
  performance and dynamic interactivity of a
  classroom lecture
• Many concepts can be taught more efficiently and
  effectively in the classroom

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The Role of Gesture

• Some mathematical concepts are physical fictive
  motion (Núñez)
• Students learn better with gesture
  (Goldin-Meadow, Kim, and Singer)
• Teachers teach/communicate better with gesture
  (Kranstedt, Kühnlein, and Wachsmuth)

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Current Learning Objects

• Data plotting
• http//math.rice.edu/lanius/Algebra/rentacarja.ht
  ml
• Linear Functions
• http//standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/chap7
  /7.5/index.htm

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Learning Objects with GFIs

• Choosing a Cell Phone plan plotting the data
• Choosing a Cell Phone plan lines and
  intersections
• http//www.atkinson.yorku.ca/sychen/research/math
  /relationships_final.html

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Summary

• The design of learning objects and thinking tools
  should include the teachers perspective
• Gesture Friendly Interfaces help teachers more
  easily and effectively use these tools in the
  classroom