A study on wii remote application as tangible user interface in elementary classroom teaching

Abstract

Elementary teaching in classes has always been a challenge. The cognitive understanding of children (4–11 years of age) are very different from a matured person. Research and studies (Froebel, The pedagogics of the kindergarten, 2001 and Montessori, The Montessori method scientific pedagogy as applied to child education in “The Children’s houses”, 1992) [1, 2] have been carried out on children’s behavior and problem solving ability which reveals that learning with actual physical objects produces better results than abstract representations. In this study, we have explored the benefits of TUI (Tangible User Interface) in children’s thinking and learning process with Wii Remote. By providing both visual and physical representation, TUIs helps in reducing the cognitive load of thinking among children and increase their learning capabilities. A low-cost effective tool, “Nintendo Wii Remote” is rapidly finding a place in the field of learning technologies. Analysis conducted in this paper have shown the possibilities of exploring Wii Remote aiding in learning environment for children can significantly affect the learning outcome.