From DigiQuilt to DigiTile: Adapting educational technology to a multi-touch table

To realize the potential of multi-touch tables, interaction designers need to create meaningful applications for them in real-world contexts. One convenient shortcut towards that end is adapting a meaningful application from another interface paradigm. In this paper, we detail the process of adapting DigiQuilt, a single-user desktop educational technology, to DigiTile, a collaborative multi-touch application. With this case study, we concretely demonstrate the utility of adapting and how previous research and theory can inform that process. In particular, we show how learning theory (1) motivated the transition from the desktop to the multi-touch table, (2) guided the design process, and (3) informed the evaluation.