What they can and cannot: A meta-analysis of research on touch and multi-touch gestures by two to seven-year-olds

Publication date: Available online 4 November 2019Source: International Journal of Child-Computer InteractionAuthor(s): Uthpala Samarakoon, Hakim Usoof, Thilina HalolluwaAbstractThere is growing interest in understanding to what extent small children can use multi-touch technologies as there is much scope for using the same to support their educational activities. Touch gesture performance is one of the main desired elements in touch-based e-learning systems designed for children aged two to seven. Accumulated research on touch gesture performance by children has identified several common and frequently used gestures that can be performed by children in the pre-operational stage (from age two to seven). However, none of the existing review articles have covered touch gesture performance of pre-operational children in a single study. The contribution of this paper will be two-fold. First, we present a review of literature that aims to provide more information on this subject. Second, we offer insights into the need to enhance the touch gesture performance of children. Finally, the study suggests some techniques to improve the touch gesture performance of children of any particular age group.
Source: International Journal of Child Computer Interaction - Category: Child Development Source Type: research