Interaction - Bachelor

ADDEND GLO

A tangible digital toy designed to enhance engagement in learning. Developed to support the delivery of the Australian Mathematics Curriculum for 5–6-year-olds, specific to Geometry and Number. The toy includes a collection of multiple rods of varying sectional lengths. Each rod length has a set light colour. As rods are connected, the light colour changes to reflect the new length and sum value.

Lydia Foster

Three 5-6 year old children sitting on the floor in a classroom using the rods and connectors to build a rectangle.

INTERACTIVE MOVEMENT

In encouraging the development of motor and social skills, the rods have been scaled at an appropriate hand size, requiring students to interact with each other and the toy. Rod connectors are included to enable students to use spatial awareness to create 2D or 3D shapes.
Three 5-6 year old children sitting on the floor in a classroom. Two rods have been connected to represent 6. They are about to add a 4 rod so that they have built a targeted number sum of 10.

INTERACTIVE LEARNING

The coloured lights are designed to provide immediate reinforcement and visual feedback of learning success. For example, if tasked with creating a square, all four rods should have the same-coloured light to indicate equal length in sides. Activities can be scaffolded for increasing complexity; for example, students may be given a limited number of rods with varying lengths. They must determine how to combine the rods to create three equal sides for an equilateral triangle. Additionally, a set number of rods can be combined to build a targeted number sum.

CURRICULUM SUPPORT

Instructional cards, based on the Australian Foundation Year and Year 1 Mathematics Curriculum, are to be used by teachers as modelling prompts to guide successful learning outcomes.

Instructional Cards

TECHNOLOGY

Each rod can be turned on or off using the push button. Resistance from magnets indicates to the user that they need to rotate one of the rods until the magnets attract. To control the colour logic, DIY magnetic connectors detect when two rods are joined. An ESP32-C3 Development Board in each rod calculates the sum colour of the rod values.

Coding Electronics

FUTURE DESIGN DEVELOPMENTS

A set would come with multiple rod lengths up to ten. However, for this prototype, two sets of rods up to a length of five have been developed. When the sum of connected rods exceeds ten, groups of ten and remainders should be visualised. For example, if the rod length equates to twelve – the light blinks orange once to represent one group of ten and then illuminates red which equates to the assigned number of ones. In this case being two.

Rods in storage case and graphic of rod lengths 1 to 10.

Lydia Foster

Lydia is a graduating Interaction Design and Business Management student who is passionate about creating tangible designs that aim to offer a balance between physical activity and digital interaction. Lydia is particularly interested in testing, critiquing and evaluating the usability of systems.