How does the tangible object affect motor skill learning?

Abstract

Although tangible user interfaces have gained recent popularity in research, their impact on certain types of learning has not been studied extensively; therefore the effects of their use are not fully understood yet. This paper discusses a classification of tangible user interfaces for learning and the design of a study which looked at how two different tangible objects in a tangible user interface affect motor skill learning. The study compared motor skill learning in two conditions, one of which featured a tangible object whose shape was manipulated in order to resemble a real life object. The hypothesis was that the participants using a tangible object more similar to a real life object would achieve higher competence in a motor skill than the participants using a tangible object less similar to a real life object. This paper summarizes the current state of the data analysis stage of the study, as well as plans for future work.