Making digital objects tangible: A case study for tangibility in preschoolers' multimedia learning

Abstract

For preschoolers, the major drawback in digital multimedia systems is the lack of concrete components that allows them to learn naturally and tangibly. Piaget posits that children age below 7 years can best cognizant concrete objects. Hence, there exists a large learning gap between preschoolers and digital multimedia. Literature reviews shed light on the idea that tangible objects could serve as an excellent means to materialize the sense of tangibility in multimedia learning. We produce this paper with an objective to discuss how digital multimedia objects can be configured for tangibility. Review on past examples of Tangible User Interface (TUI) systems arguably concluded that all components of multimedia can be made tangible. Adopting the idea from TUl researches, a “tangible multimedia learning system” for preschoolers has been developed for case study. Its finding demonstrated that the system offers profound effects on the preschoolers' learning performance and enjoyment level.