The Perception of Sound and Its Influence in the Classroom

Abstract

Abstract. In this paper we describe a game to assess if the quantitative and graphical perception of sound by students can influence how they behave in the classroom. The game captures sound and shows the sound wave or the frequency spectrum, integrated with an animated character, to students in real time. The quieter the students are the higher the score. A survey was conducted to teachers from an elementary and secondary school to determine if they considered that noise, caused by the students, was a problem. Most of the teachers considered that students make too much noise. All the classes where the game was tested became quieter, thus showing that when these students perceived, in a quantitative way, how much their behavior was disruptive they were more inclined to be quiet or, at least, to reduce the amount of noise.

Expanding the Magic Circle in Pervasive Casual Play

“…A video projector, connected to the computer where the game is running, shows the animated character to all students. The classes where the game was tested became quieter [12].…”

“…All the mentioned games comply with our research objective of merging the real world with games, in a way that is easy for the player, and making use of functionality already available in devices such as computers, portable computers and mobile phones. The Castle of Count Pat only needs a low end computer, a microphone and a video projector to show the output of the game to students [12]. The Imaginary Friend resorts to a mobile phone, to an electrodermal activity sensor and to a pico projector.…”

Effects of an Ambient Learning Display on Noise Levels and Perceived Learning in a Secondary School

“…Van Tonder [60] concluded that most teachers were able to keep classroom noise to a minimum with the help of SoundEarII. Similarly, [13], [61], [75] were able to reduce the average level of noise when the used the visual feedback system.…”

“…Bridging the research on ambient displays to provide feedback and noise within classrooms, Reis and Correia [62] created a serious game to raise awareness on a specific topic, and introduced characters presented on ambient displays that changed their appearance depending on the level of noise. The reported results suggest that the noise means measured by the microphone in 4 groups decreased 39%, 26%, 21%, and 5% respectively as a result of the intervention.…”

“…A recent review [73] identifies student and classroom characteristics related to students' listening skills highlighting the relevance of noise for adequate listening conditions in classrooms. Recent research suggests that noise may affect memory by impairing the quality with which information is stored in the memory [27], [62]. Woolner and Hal [74] reviewed the weight of evidence in the relation between noise and learning.…”