Tangible User Interfaces as Mediating Tools within Adaptive Educational Environments

Abstract

This chapter proposes that, as approaches to human computer interaction (HCI), tangible user interfaces (TUIs) can scaffold rich classroom experiences if they are coupled and generated within multi-pedagogical frameworks that adopt concepts such as Multimodality, Multisensoriality, and Multiliteracies. It overviews some necessary conditions for these tools to be effective, arguing that tangible user interfaces and multi-pedagogies are efficient when they are conceptualized as part of adaptive educational environments—teaching and learning ecologies where learners and teachers are seen as co-creators of content and of new ways of interacting with such content.