Comparing the Effect of Interactive Tabletops and Desktops on Students' Cognition

摘要

In this pilot study we investigated the effect of technological platform on the quality of students' cognition when analyzing a computer simulation. As an indicator of performance, we measured the percentage of ideal cycles of cognition; an ideal cycle of cognition is defined as having three distinct steps: planning an action, executing it and evaluating its effects. The results of this study suggest that individuals were not affected by the orientation of display; dyads, however, had twice as many ideal cycles of cognition when interacting with a tabletop than with a desktop. We discuss the implications and limitations of those preliminary results for classroom instruction.