Abstract
TurboTurtle is a dynamicmulti-usermicroworld for the exploration of
Newtonian physics. With TurboTurtle, students can alter the attributes
of the simulation environment, such as gravity, friction, and presence
or absence of walls. Students explore the microworld by manipulating
a variety of parameters, and learn concepts by studying the behaviours
and interactions that occur. TurboTurtle has evolved into a “group-aware�
system where several students, each on their own computer, can simultaneously
control the microworld and gesture around the shared display. TurboTurtle's
design rationale includes concepts such as equal opportunity controls,
simulation timing, concrete vs. abstract controls, recoverability,
and how strictly views should be shared between students. Teachers
can also add structure to the group's activities by setting the simulation
environment to an interesting state, which includes a set of problems
and questions. Observations of pairs of young children using TurboTurtle
highlight extremes in collaboration styles, from conflict to smooth
interaction. Finally, the technical work in making TurboTurtle group-aware
is slight, primarily because it was built with a groupware toolkit
called GroupKit.
Users
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