Gesture Friendly Interfacesfor Classroom Teaching

with Thinking Tools

Stephen Chen, George Frempong,

and William Chris CudmoreYork University

Educational Technology

Support in-class teaching and/or independent learning

Large amount of research and development has focused on independent learning Learning Objects

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

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

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

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)

Current Learning Objects

Data plotting http://

math.rice.edu/~lanius/Algebra/rentacarja.html

Linear Functions http://standards.nctm.org/document/e

examples/chap7/7.5/index.htm

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/~syche

n/research/math/relationships_final.html

Summary

The design of learning objects and thinking tools should include the teacher’s perspective

Gesture Friendly Interfaces help teachers more easily and effectively use these tools in the classroom