Using force-feedback devices in educational settings: a short review

In this short review, we aim at providing an update about recent research on force-feedback devices in educational settings, with a particular focus on primary school teaching. This review describes haptic devices and education virtual environments before entering into the details of domain-specific applications of this technology in schools. Currently, the number of studies that investigated the potential of haptic devices in educational settings is limited, in particular for primary schools. The absence of longitudinal studies makes it difficult to reach any strong conclusion about the learning outcomes of this technology. Additional research is needed about how this technology might contribute to teach specific concepts at different ages. In particular, we point out the need to do more research on how to combine haptic feedback with visual and audio information, which seems important both on the basis of the results of previous studies and on recent research in neuroscience demonstrating the importance of multi-modal integration in the cognitive development of children. Demonstrating the potential benefit of haptic devices in a learning environment is also important to create a demand for this technology which might lead to the commercialization of haptic devices with an affordable price for schools.