The potential of tabletops to enable groups of people to simultaneously touch and manipulate a shared tabletop interface provides new possibilities for supporting collaborative learning. However, findings from the few studies carried out to date have tended to show small or insignificant effects compared with other technologies. We present the Collaborative Learning Mechanisms framework used to examine the coupling of verbal interactions and physical actions in collaboration around the tabletop and reveal subtle mechanisms at play. Analysis in this way revealed that what might be considered undesirable or harmful interactions and intrusions in general collaborative settings, might be beneficial for collaborative learning. We discuss the implications of these findings for how tabletops may be used to support children’s collaboration, and the value of considering verbal and physical aspects of interaction together in this way.

The field of mixed-reality interface design is relatively young and in regards to music, has not been explored in great depth. Using computer vision and collision detection techniques, Freepad further explores the development of mixed-reality interfaces for music. The result is an accessible user-definable MIDI interface for anyone with a webcam, pen and paper, which outputs MIDI notes with velocity values based on the speed of the strikes on drawn pads.