Using Multi-touch Multi-user Interactive Walls for Collaborative Active Learning

Active learning has been advocated for enhancing students’ higher order cognition in social constructivist learning settings. However, with the increasing use of student-owned computing devices in face-to-face classrooms, there are risks of limited student-student interactions. Students are likely to be distracted by non-academic activities, hence becoming inactive with regards to the learning tasks. This article presents a technology enhanced learning approach, in which students perform group learning tasks using shared digital workspace while in a physical classroom. The workspace comprises of a 9-m wide screen wall with multi-touch, multi-user interfaces supporting multimodal interactions with and among learners through tactile, visual and auditory perceptions. While using the interactive wall to support group learning activities, the learners also perform various motoric actions, including gestural communications about the learning content as well as full body motion. An investigation into the role of interactive learning surfaces for supporting in-class collaborative learning and the user experience was conducted at University of Agder. The findings indicate that, through the use of the shared workspaces, students were more actively involved in collaborative learning. The practice of using an interactive wall contributed to increased interactions among students, critical thinking abilities and creativity. The study participants expressed satisfaction with regards to the usefulness of the interactive wall as a technology solution. It is suggested that designing relevant learning tasks for optimum technology use could potentially increase student engagement and the quality of user experience in collaborative learning.