Investigation and development of a tangible technology framework for highly complex and abstract concepts

PhD thesis

De Raffaele, C. 2019. Investigation and development of a tangible technology framework for highly complex and abstract concepts. PhD thesis Middlesex University School of Science and Technology
TypePhD thesis
TitleInvestigation and development of a tangible technology framework for highly complex and abstract concepts
AuthorsDe Raffaele, C.
Abstract

The ubiquitous integration of computer-supported learning tools within the educational domain has led educators to continuously seek effective technological platforms for teaching and learning. Overcoming the inherent limitations of traditional educational approaches, interactive and tangible computing platforms have consequently garnered increased interest in the pursuit of embedding active learning pedagogies within curricula. However, whilst Tangible User Interface (TUI) systems have been successfully developed to edutain children in various research contexts, TUI architectures have seen limited deployment towards more advanced educational pursuits.
Thus, in contrast to current domain research, this study investigates the effectiveness and suitability of adopting TUI systems for enhancing the learning experience of abstract and complex computational science and technology-based concepts within higher educational institutions (HEI)s. Based on the proposal of a contextually apt TUI architecture, the research describes the design and development of eight distinct TUI frameworks embodying innovate interactive paradigms through tabletop peripherals, graphical design factors, and active tangible manipulatives. These computationally coupled design elements are evaluated through summative and formative experimental methodologies for their ability to aid in the effective teaching and learning of diverse threshold concepts experienced in computational science.
In addition, through the design and adoption of a technology acceptance model for educational technology (TAM4Edu), the suitability of TUI frameworks in HEI education is empirically evaluated across a myriad of determinants for modelling students’ behavioural intention. In light of the statistically significant results obtained in both academic knowledge gain (μ = 25.8%) and student satisfaction (μ = 12.7%), the study outlines the affordances provided through TUI design for various constituents of active learning theories and modalities. Thus, based on an empirical and pedagogical analyses, a set of design guidelines is defined within this research to direct the effective development of TUI design elements for teaching and learning abstract threshold concepts in HEI adaptations.

LanguageEnglish
Department nameSchool of Science and Technology
Institution nameMiddlesex University
Publication dates
Print23 Oct 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited23 Oct 2019
Accepted27 Aug 2019
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/888w7

Log in to edit

Download files

Accepted author manuscript
CDeRaffaele thesis EMBARGO.pdf

  • 36
    total views
  • 54
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 3
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Knowledge management for the micro enterprise: a taxonomy
Hall, S., Smith, S., Baskent, C. and De Raffaele, C. 2023. Knowledge management for the micro enterprise: a taxonomy. Matos, F. and Rosa, A. (ed.) 24th European Conference on Knowledge Management. Lisboa, Portugal 07 - 08 Sep 2023 Academic Conferences International. https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.24.1.1268
Reducing the dependency of having prior domain knowledge for effective online information retrieval
Zammit, O., Smith, S., Windridge, D. and De Raffaele, C. 2023. Reducing the dependency of having prior domain knowledge for effective online information retrieval. Expert systems. 40 (4). https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.13014
Designing a marker set for vertical tangible user interfaces
Attard, G., De Raffaele, C. and Smith, S. 2021. Designing a marker set for vertical tangible user interfaces. 10th ICIT 2021: Advanced Machine Learning and Deep Learning. Amman, Jordan 14 - 15 Jul 2021 IEEE. pp. 974-979 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIT52682.2021.9491659
Exposing students to new terminologies while collecting browsing search data (best technical paper)
Zammit, O., Smith, S., Windridge, D. and De Raffaele, C. 2020. Exposing students to new terminologies while collecting browsing search data (best technical paper). 40th SGAI International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AI 2020. Cambridge, UK 15 - 17 Dec 2020 Cham Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63799-6_1
Exposing knowledge: providing a real-time view of the domain under study for students
Zammit, O., De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Petridis, M. 2019. Exposing knowledge: providing a real-time view of the domain under study for students. Bramer, M. and Petridis, M. (ed.) AI-2019 Thirty-ninth SGAI International Conference on Artificial Intelligence. Cambridge, United Kingdom 17 - 19 Dec 2019 Springer. pp. 122-135 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34885-4_9
TangiBoard: a toolkit to reduce the implementation burden of Tangible User Interfaces in education
Attard, G., De Raffaele, C. and Smith, S. 2019. TangiBoard: a toolkit to reduce the implementation burden of Tangible User Interfaces in education. The 13th IEEE International Conference Application of Information and Communication Technologies (AICT 2019). Baku, Azerbaijan 23 - 25 Oct 2019 IEEE. pp. 1-7 https://doi.org/10.1109/AICT47866.2019.8981773
An active tangible user interface framework for teaching and learning artificial intelligence
De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Gemikonakli, O. 2018. An active tangible user interface framework for teaching and learning artificial intelligence. ACM IUI 2018: 23rd ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces. Tokyo, Japan 07 - 11 Mar 2018 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). pp. 535-546 https://doi.org/10.1145/3172944.3172976
Enabling the effective teaching and learning of advanced robotics in higher education using an active TUI framework
De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Gemikonakli, O. 2017. Enabling the effective teaching and learning of advanced robotics in higher education using an active TUI framework. 3rd Africa and Middle East Conference on Software Engineering. Cairo, Egypt 12 - 13 Dec 2017 ACM Press. pp. 7-12 https://doi.org/10.1145/3178298.3178299
Bridging the digital divide for e-learning students through adaptive VLEs
Spiteri, C., De Raffaele, C. and Smith, S. 2017. Bridging the digital divide for e-learning students through adaptive VLEs. 2016 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE 2016). Bangkok, Thailand 07 - 09 Dec 2016 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). pp. 210-217 https://doi.org/10.1109/TALE.2016.7851796
The application of Tangible User Interfaces of teaching and learning in Higher Education
De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Gemikonakli, O. 2017. The application of Tangible User Interfaces of teaching and learning in Higher Education. in: Branch, J., Hayes, S., Hørsted, A. and Nygaard, C. (ed.) Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Oxfordshire, UK Libri Publishing. pp. 215-226
Explaining multi-threaded task scheduling using tangible user interfaces in higher educational contexts
De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Gemikonakli, O. 2017. Explaining multi-threaded task scheduling using tangible user interfaces in higher educational contexts. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON 2017). Athens, Greece 25 - 28 Apr 2017 IEEE. pp. 1383-1390 https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON.2017.7943028
Teaching and learning queueing theory concepts using tangible user interfaces
De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Gemikonakli, O. 2016. Teaching and learning queueing theory concepts using tangible user interfaces. 2016 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE 2016). Bangkok, Thailand 07 - 09 Dec 2016 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). pp. 194-201 https://doi.org/10.1109/TALE.2016.7851794
The aptness of tangible user interfaces for explaining abstract computer network principles
De Raffaele, C., Smith, S. and Gemikonakli, O. 2016. The aptness of tangible user interfaces for explaining abstract computer network principles. FIE 2016 -The 46th Annual Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference. Erie, PA, USA 12 - 15 Oct 2016 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2016.7757573
The use of social networking sites in eLearning
De Raffaele, C., Bugeja, L. and Smith, S. 2015. The use of social networking sites in eLearning. International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic and Management Engineering. 9 (4), pp. 1223-1228.
Corporate amnesia in the micro business environment
Hall, S. and De Raffaele, C. 2013. Corporate amnesia in the micro business environment. 2013 IEEE 19th Federal Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (FEDCSIS 2013). Krakow, Poland 08 - 11 Sep 2013 IEEE. pp. 1247-1251