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The i-Cube: design considerations for block-based digital manipulatives and their applications

Published: 11 June 2012 Publication History

Abstract

Manipulatives are tangible objects designed to support learning through exploratory arrangement and manipulation. The i-Cube is a cube-shaped digital manipulative that provides unique 3-D spatial awareness of the facets and orientation of neighboring i-Cubes. This paper discusses the considerations adopted in its design and the advantages of the proposed design to that of other cube-based tangible user interfaces. The i-Cubes are then employed in the design of two applications. MusiCube Arranger is a tangible music composition and layering system and Spelling Cube is an interactive system for learning spelling. These applications are used to illustrate how the unique features of the i-Cube can be exploited to implement novel tangible interactions such as free-form 3D stacking, interactive control through block orientation change and context-aware feedback.

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  1. The i-Cube: design considerations for block-based digital manipulatives and their applications

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    DIS '12: Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference
    June 2012
    828 pages
    ISBN:9781450312103
    DOI:10.1145/2317956
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    Published: 11 June 2012

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    Author Tags

    1. child-computer Interaction
    2. digital manipulatives
    3. education
    4. tangible user interfaces

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    DIS '12: Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2012
    June 11 - 15, 2012
    Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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    • (2024)CommuTiles: Shape-Changeable Modular Computer System Using Proximity Wireless CommunicationExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3648669(1-5)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
    • (2022)Robotic Musicianship Based on Least Squares and Sequence Generative Adversarial NetworksIEEE Sensors Journal10.1109/JSEN.2021.306620022:18(17646-17654)Online publication date: 15-Sep-2022
    • (2020)Virtual Pheromone Based Network Flow Control For Modular Robotic SystemsElectronics10.3390/electronics90304819:3(481)Online publication date: 14-Mar-2020
    • (2020)Augmented Reality for Early Language Learning: A Systematic Review of Augmented Reality Application Design, Instructional Strategies, and Evaluation OutcomesJournal of Educational Computing Research10.1177/073563312092748958:6(1059-1100)Online publication date: 3-Jun-2020
    • (2020)FoxelsProceedings of the Fourteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction10.1145/3374920.3374935(111-122)Online publication date: 9-Feb-2020
    • (2020)Gradient-based Routing Protocol for Modular Robotic Systems2020 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII)10.1109/SII46433.2020.9025834(1282-1287)Online publication date: Jan-2020
    • (2018)Bricks, Blocks, Boxes, Cubes, and DiceProceedings of the 2018 Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3196709.3196768(485-496)Online publication date: 8-Jun-2018
    • (2018)RFIBricksProceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3173574.3173763(1-10)Online publication date: 21-Apr-2018
    • (2018)Block TalksExtended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3170427.3188576(1-6)Online publication date: 20-Apr-2018
    • (2018)Towards Designing Tangible Interaction for Children with Dyslexia in Learning the Malay LanguageRecent Advances on Soft Computing and Data Mining10.1007/978-3-319-72550-5_37(385-395)Online publication date: 12-Jan-2018
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