TangiBooks: Design and Creation of Paper-Based Tangibles with Embedded Electronics for Teaching Programming Concepts

The growing need for programming and computational skills has led to a demand for teaching approaches that can appeal to a broader audience. We explore the design and creation of tangible objects and interactions to make introductory programming concepts more engaging and less tedious. We introduce TangiBooks, a platform that uses paper-based tangibles with embedded electronics and augments paper with sensory interactions like visuals, sounds, haptics, and kinesthetics to reinforce learning. The platform is implemented as proof-of-concept and offers four self-contained lessons on key concepts such as algorithms, variables, conditionals, and loops. Results from our observational study (12 adult learners, 6 instructors) showed that participants found TangiBooks to be playful, appealing to their senses, and valuable for sparking curiosity, with potential pedagogical benefits for promoting reflection among learners. TangiBooks has implications for HCI researchers in furthering the design space of paper-based tangibles in the learning domain and empowering instructors to innovate and personalize lessons.