Interactive Multimodal Molecular Set – Designing Ludic Engaging Science Learning Content

This paper reports on an exploratory study investigating 10 primary school students’ interaction with an interactive multimodal molecular set fostering ludic engaging science learning content in primary schools (8th and 9th grade). The concept of the prototype design was to bridge the physical and virtual worlds with electronic tags and, through this, blend the familiarity of the computer and toys, to create a tool that provided a ludic approach to learning about atoms and molecules. The study was inspired by the participatory design and informant design methodologies and included design collaboratorium sessions, interviews and observations. The results indicated that bridging the physical and digital worlds can support learning where the affordances of the technologies can be described in terms of meaningful activity: exploration, reasoning, reflection, and ludic engagement. Here, the electronic tags facilitate the application and provide the students to articulate knowledge through different modes; images, gestures, and 3D objects