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Ultrasound is becoming increasingly important in almost all medical fields. However, there are still large gaps in ultrasound education. A novel educational game for ultrasound beginners is presented which aims at training the visuospatial skills needed for understanding cross-sectional imaging. The game can be played at home on a standard PC with mouse and keyboard as input devices, thereby opening up new teaching options. We investigated training efficacy in an exploratory study. Results suggest that participants who played the game can improve their spatial abilities more than participants who did not. This improvement was not statistically significant, possibly due to the small sample size and a strong ceiling effect. The concept of the game, however, was rated positively by the participants.

Spatial skill assessment and training are promising fields of application for tablets, as touch-based interaction can prime and support mental transformations of spatial knowledge. We report on a study with 49 secondary school students who used our iPad app to solve mental and physical rotation tasks. During physical rotation, students were able to rotate 3D stimuli using touch interaction. Results show specific similarities (e.g., regarding angular disparity effects) as well as differences between mental and physical conditions, such as for task success, mental effort, efficiency; all to the advantage of the physical condition. 12–13-year olds can benefit from these advantages without previous task training, whereas previous research showed this to be different for younger students. In a second step, our analysis compares low and high achievers regarding physical rotation behaviour and motivational variables, including expected success. The results lay grounds for constructing individualized, tablet-based training apps for spatial skills.

Spatial abilities and thus mental rotation skills predict achievement in STEM domains. Thus, a wide range of studies investigated the possibilities and trainings of mental rotation skills. One prominent approach is using different digital tools and representation formats to foster spatial abilities. Thereby numerous studies analyzed effects of static in comparison to interactive dynamic representations of mental rotation tasks using different types of interactions. Although the use of dynamic representations is discussed critical regarding superficial information processing, there are no studies to date varying instructional techniques in interactive dynamic spatial trainings. In two studies we compared Limited Rotation training to non-limited Free Rotation training with high school students (Npilot = 21, Nmain = 66). Results after training show a superior effect of the limited compared to the non-limited training regarding the students’ success rate, but not their motivation and mental demand. Additionally analyzed process data show more efficient ways of task solving after limited rotation training indicated by reduced response time and rotation way accompanied by higher success rates in solving non-limited rotation tasks. Results of a pre-and-post-comparison of mental rotation skills indicate a higher increment after limited rotation training. Over-facilitating effects of dynamic representations are discussed.

Communication with remote persons over a video link is common today, e.g. to connect with family members abroad, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, social activities such as board games are rarely shared in this way, as common video chat software does not support this scenario well. However, interactive tabletops provide inherent support for natural tangible interaction with items on the tabletop surface. We present the Tabletop Teleporter, a setup designed to merge two remote locations into a single shared interaction space. We evaluate the system using a board game, focusing on the perceived immersion and connectedness of participants. Our evaluation shows that most measures for the social quality of a remotely shared game are not significantly different from one played with co-located participants, and that players prefer our setup over a pure videochat scenario.

Mobile devices with touch screens, such as tablets are increasingly used in classrooms. Pragmatic advantages are seen in high mobility during computer-based learning due to a high portability of mobile devices and an easy online access to learning applications at places in and outside classrooms. From a psychological perspective, it is of special interest to examine how different modes of interaction with learning materials (e.g. through apps on tablets) affect performance and motivation. For example, touch screens can afford rather natural gestures and embodied interaction. For various contexts, the use of gestures to interact with information presentations (e.g. with 2-D and 3-D visualizations) has been shown to be beneficial for solving spatial tasks. It is of interest whether use of gestures can also improve learning from dynamic visual information presented on touch-based devices. We present and discuss a study in which we focused on the question of whether, for elementary school students, solving spatial tasks can be enhanced by using touch-gestures on mobile devices. Two conditions of spatial rotation tasks were compared using a within-and between subject design: an interactive, touch-based app allowing to physically rotate objects and a paper-based, static version. Elementary school students worked with both conditions, though in different orders. Findings suggest that the app-based, dynamic version improves task solving significantly with regard to success rate, mental and temporal efficiency. However, results clearly show that effects mostly exist only after children had first completed the paper-based, static trial of tasks in which they needed to mentally rotate the objects. The results indicate an additive, enhancing effect of the touch-based, dynamic interaction mode especially for children who already are capable of solving the tasks by using mental rotation processes. We investigated mental/physical rotation with elementary school children.Additive effects of touch-based, dynamic representations for spatial tasks were found.Gesture use is beneficial for rotation after mental pre-training.Effects relate to success rate, mental and temporal efficiency.

Gameplay experience is shaped by players' expectations towards the game and how game features are presented to them. We created two modified versions of the classic TETRIS game: one that adapts game difficulty based on players' performance and one that additionally adapts to players' eye movements. An initial analysis of exploratory study results indicates that eye-movement-based adaptive difficulty in TETRIS might not affect player performance and that framing the use of adaptive difficulty might only have a limited influence on both players' game experience and perceived competence.

Good spatial skills are of particular importance in STEM domains. For the training of spatial skills, smartphones provide a promising platform because of their high dissemination. Additionally, new frameworks make it easy to develop and use augmented reality (AR) contents. To examine the potential of AR for the training of spatial skills, we developed a prototype of a smartphone app for the solving of cross section tasks.The prototype was tested in a user study with 32 university students. It was compared against a second prototype with a classical Arcball interaction. For both prototypes, success rates were equally high. However, 3D-objects could be rotated faster using the AR-app. For the AR-app, participants reported higher scores regarding innovation and motivation but also for physical demands. This is especially interesting because motor activity and spatial skills are highly connected. Therefore, the physical approach might be promising for the development of spatial skill training apps which might lead to good long-term training results.

Mobile devices are seen to incorporate characteristics which can support learning and problem solving in general and specific abilities, such as spatial ones (e.g. mental rotation). Central relevant characteristics of these devices are the availability of multiple representations (e.g. dynamic and static) and the direct interaction via touch, pointing and tracing with displayed information. The primary aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of direct interactive, dynamic interactions with spatial tasks on mobile devices as compared to purely static, non-interactive versions of the same tasks. We expected that dynamic, interactive tasks support mental processes while solving spatial tasks would be especially helpful for learners with difficulties in mental rotation and low expectancies regarding their spatial abilities. Therefore, the second focus of the study was to examine whether the expected beneficial effects of dynamic interactions were equally beneficial for both genders. This was motivated by previous studies that revealed gender differences in performance and motivational beliefs regarding spatial tasks to the disadvantage of females. We used a mixed within-between subject design with presentation format (static vs. dynamic) and gender (female vs. male) as factors and success rate, mental effort, intrinsic motivation, and frustration as dependent variables. The study was conducted in four classes (7th grade, N = 46) in two secondary schools. To test gender related pre-assumptions, spatial abilities and motivation were assessed before solving the actual rotation tasks. A MANOVA with single-comparison follow-up tests revealed increased success rates and decreased mental effort for both genders in the dynamic condition, whereas beneficial effects for intrinsic motivation and frustration were restricted to female students. Process data for rotation behavior was registered for dynamic tasks: an analysis hinted at more exploratory ways of solving spatial tasks for females and at more goal-oriented approaches for male students.

For pedestrian navigation support, we report on how the feeling of being in control about receiving updates impacts navigation efficiency and user experience. In an exploratory field study, 24 participants navigated to previously unknown targets using a wristband which conveyed tactile information about targets' bearing. Information was either pulled by the user at times of her choosing via a simple arm gesture, or was pushed by the armband at a regular, preset interval. While the push mode resulted in higher efficiency, more users preferred actively pulling information, possibly as this afforded feeling more in control. Interestingly, mode preference was independent of individual navigation ability. Results suggest that properties of the specific navigation context should be used to determine whether an interface offers push or pull modes for navigation support.

Over the past few years, a number of studies have reported on procedural similarities and differences between mental rotation and physical (i.e., manual) rotation of Shepard and Metzler-type stimuli. These similarities include comparable angular disparity effects and comparable final angular offsets in problem solving. This paper presents results from further comparisons based on gazed-derived measures obtained across the course of trials. In a within-subject design, participants solved the same tasks as mental and as physical rotation problems. We compare time courses of mean fixation duration and of saccade amplitude, and interpret these with respect to underlying mental processes and loads. The results point to additional specific procedural similarities and differences, which nicely complement the previous findings. The results are of additional, practical use for establishing how and when physical rotation can provide a useful proxy for mental rotation for purposes of process analysis, of ability assessment, and of training.

One of the frequently examined design principles in multimedia learning is the personalization principle. Based on empirical evidence this principle states that using personalized messages in multimedia learning is more beneficial than using formal language (e.g., using 'you' instead of 'the'). Although there is evidence that these slight changes in regard to the language style affect learning, motivation and the perceived cognitive load, it remains unclear, (1) whether the positive effects of personalized language can be transferred to all kinds of content of learning materials (e.g., specific potentially aversive health issues) and (2) which are the underlying processes (e.g., attention allocation) of the personalization effect. German university students (N = 37) learned symptoms and causes of cerebral hemorrhages either with a formal or a personalized version of the learning material. Analysis revealed comparable results to the few existing previous studies, indicating an inverted personalization effect for potentially aversive learning material. This effect was specifically revealed in regard to decreased average fixation duration and the number of fixations exclusively on the images in the personalized compared to the formal version. These results can be seen as indicators for an inverted effect of personalization on the level of visual attention.

We present TouchScope, a hybrid multitouch interface for common off-the-shelf oscilloscopes. Oscilloscopes are a valuable tool for analyzing and debugging electronic circuits, but are also complex scientific instruments. Novices are faced with a seemingly overwhelming array of knobs and buttons, and usually require lengthy training before being able to use these devices productively. TouchScope uses a multitouch tablet in combination with an unmodified off-the-shelf oscilloscope to provide a novice-friendly hybrid interface, combining both the low entry barrier of a touch-based interface and the high degrees of freedom of a conventional button-based interface.