Fireflies2: Interactive tangible pixels to enable distributed cognition in classroom technologies

Continuous developments in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) are resulting in an omnipresence of digital technologies in our everyday lives, which is also visible in the presence of supportive technologies in education. These technologies, e.g. tablets and computers, usually require focused attention to be operated, which hinders teachers from appropriating them while teaching. Peripheral interactive systems, which do not require focused attention, could play a role in relieving teachers’ cognitive load, such that mental resources are freed to focus on other teaching tasks. This paper presents an exploratory study on enabling such cognitive offloading through peripheral interaction in the classroom. We present the design and a seven-week field deployment of FireFlies2 interactive tangible pixels which are distributed over the classroom. Our findings show that FireFlies2 supported cognitive processes of teachers and pupils in a number of scenarios.