ECE 495 and Creative Inquiry

Haptic Virtual Manipulatives

Timothy Burg, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dot Moss, Department of Mathematical Sciences

Project Overview

Build a haptic interface that can be used to add sense of touch to manipulatives for math and science education. Dot Moss of "Math Out Of The Box" has helped choose some manipulatives that might have potential as virtual manipulatives.

Examples of manipulatives.

Customer Specifications

Background:

Math Out of the Box®, is a hands on tool used to facilitate the teaching of mathematics for children in grades K-5. According to the program overview, “Math Out of the Box® encourages children’s natural curiosity, teaches ‘real-world’ math concepts and skills, and integrates writing with math lessons.” Math Out of the Box® seeks to improve education in mathematics through a series of hands on exercises and lessons, which develop algebraic thinking, geometric logic, measurement benchmarks, and number concepts. Math Out of the Box® is an effective solution for allowing students to learn mathematics through one-on-one interaction. The goal of the design project is to take two lessons a part of Math Out of the Box®, specifically regarding rotational symmetry and weight distribution, and create a virtual world in the most inexpensive and efficient way possible to help students receive a better understanding of the concepts. The learning cycle is a research-supported method for education, particularly in science. The learning cycle (started with physics education in the 1970s) has five overlapping phases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_cycle):

Engage, in which a student's interest is captured and the topic is established.
Explore, in which the student is allowed to construct knowledge in the topic through facilitated questioning and observation.
Explain, in which students are asked to explain what they have discovered, and the instructor leads a discussion of the topic to refine the students' understanding.
Extend, in which students are asked to apply what they have learned in different but similar situations, and the instructor guides the students toward the next discussion topic.
Evaluate, in which the instructor observes each student's knowledge and understanding, and leads students to assess whether what they have learned is true. Evaluation should take place throughout the cycle, not within its own set phase.

Weakenesses of Math Out of the Box® Kit Regarding Rotational Symmetry and Weight Distribution:

When students are observing rotational symmetry the learning method used includes tracing a shape on a piece of paper and a then rotating the piece of paper on top of the shape they are trying to observe. The tracing paper can slide and move out of place, therefore causing frustration and leading to an incorrect accounting of the degrees of symmetry.
When instructing students on the concept of weight and weight differences it is impossible to illustrate the differences in weight of larger objects.
There are readily available products to help students understand the concept of smaller weights through the use of scales, however these scales are often inaccurate and can lead to misunderstanding.

Customer Desires:

General Requirements
- A satisfying haptic interface which will allow students to grasp the concept of rotational symmetry and compare relative weights.
- All measurements are initially unitless, english or metric systems could be introduced at a certain point in the students progression.
- Portable
- Cost Target: Build it for $100 in quantities of 1000 units
- Power Source: AC power preferred over a battery, USB power would be acceptable.
- Durable
- Appealing to kids (colors).
- Safe for K-5, ages 5-12 years.
- Easy to use, user friendly.
Rotational Symmetry
- Use the aforementioned method of tracing paper and manipulative in a virtual environment.
- Allow the user to interact and receive feedback from the virtual environment using a haptic interface
- Design elements: real world shapes young students can relate to, such as hubcaps, building designs, door knobs, etc.
- Simple shapes
- Make sure that the concept of “Infinite” is introduced as a possible answer in rotational symmetry
Weight Distribution
- Real world objects should be featured in the virtual environment
- Use haptics to illustrate the differing force of objects. Example, light vs. heavy
- Be able to illustrate the weight of larger items such as trucks or elephants
- Sense of balance: use multiple smaller objects to balance one large object