TangiNet: a tangible user interface system for teaching the properties of network cables

Abstract

Within many computer science related courses, networking is often included as a core module due to industry needs. An important topic within networking involves teaching students the properties of network cables and many students however find it challenging to learn networking-related topics thus reducing interest and motivation for learning. Through the use of Tangible User Interfaces (TUI), such challenges could be potentially addressed although limited work has been undertaken to create systems that teach networking related topics. In order to address this gap, this paper investigates the application of tangible user interface for teaching the properties of network cables through a proposed system called TangiNet. The proposed system was evaluated to assess four key aspects, namely, learnability, interaction, tangibility and enjoyment. For all the constructs investigated, positive overall results were obtained thus implying that such tool could be adopted in networking related courses for the addressed concepts

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