A Heterogeneous Animated Platform for Educational Participatory Simulations

Abstract

This paper describes a multi-user interactive installation featuring real time animated creatures and a mobile interaction paradigm. This paradigm has been designed to serve as a platform for education in a variety of content domains. Drawing on previous research in mobile computing and animated educational systems, this project contributes a novel metaphor for interactions among real and virtual creatures and worlds. This "Land/Water" metaphor offers that virtual space is like land for virtual creatures, and real space is like water for them. The interaction paradigm involves groups of animated creatures that live on desktop screens, and may be transported from screen to screen by means of mobile Tablet PCs carried by human participants. This paper presents a working implementation of this paradigm and describes its use as an educational tool.