Exploring Sound to Enhance Learning of Abstract Science Concepts

Abstract

Auditory feedback plays an important role for many educational technologies. This work is part of an on-going study that aims to explore whether the aggregation of sound to a visual-based tabletop may enhance users’ interaction and be beneficial for the learning of abstract science concepts. In this sense, initial studies (presented here) were undertaken where a number of sounds were elicited, and their mappings to scientific concepts were explored and verified, both with and without visuals. Issues were raised regarding attributes (like pitch), levels of abstraction, duration and continuity of sounds, as well as connection between sounds and visuals.