Storyboard

Here I created a situation in which the wave form TUI can be implemented. This situation discusses possible reactions and approaches to using this system:


Russell Butler
7/24/07
Storyboard for Tangible Wave Form Interface

When some high school students are studying physics, it can be very hard for them to grasp certain concepts. One of the reasons for this difficulty may be the fact that students are not actively involved with these concepts. They may be able to see them, but they cannot actively touch or manipulate the information that they are provided. For example, a student may have difficulty learning about how sound waves travel through air.
When teaching the subject of sound in her class Mrs. Gibbs implemented a TUI. She explained how sound waves travel through air at a certain speed. She also explained that the nature of the sound wave is determined by the wave’s frequency and its amplitude. This concept confused some of her students so she decided to show them visually. She brought out a table that had a structure on top of it that looked like several diamonds put together. The table also had a play button and a small LED light on the surface. She moved the table under a projector that was hanging from the ceiling.
She then turned on the projector and went over to a computer. She told her students that she was going to play them what was called a sine wave, a very basic tone. She loaded a clip on the computer and went over to the table. The projector was now showing a waveform on top of the diamonds. She pressed the play button and the waveform plays over a set of speakers, the LED light also starts to blink once for every time the wave is played. She brings the kids over to the table and shows them that the vertical part of the wave is the amplitude, while the horizontal part of the wave is the frequency.
She wants to show the students how the frequency and amplitude vary so she stretches out the diamonds in order to show them what happens when a wave gets slower, she then presses the play button again and the new wave plays. She wants to show them what happens when a wave gets loud so she compresses the diamonds, hits the play button, and the new wave plays again. The kids are then encouraged to play with different parts of the diamonds in order to create different frequencies and amplitudes.