Playing With Words: Evaluating Word Processors with Children

Abstract: This paper describes a small pilot study that looked at the immediate usability of two commercial word processors used by children. The study compared an application which was designed for children against one predominately used by adults. The children’s performance was assessed whilst carrying out six key tasks. The results showed that there was a small difference in the usability of the two products but also highlighted that several simple word processing tasks were difficult for the children to complete. The paper discusses the findings and suggests areas for further research. Introduction The work that is reported in this paper was a pilot study comparing children’s performance when carrying out some basic editing tasks between two different word processors. The first word processor was Softease Textease which is a word processor designed specifically for use in the classroom, and also the one that is used within the participating school. The second word processor used was Microsoft Word 2003 wh ich was not designed specifically for children but is still used extensively within the UK primary school system. With the growth of home computing and the introduction of computer suites in UK primary schools, children are being introduced to computers at a much earlier age than was previously the case (DfES, 2003). Whereas computers in the home are used mainly for games (Kerawalla & Crook, 2002) and browsing, the main uses of computers in schools are largely for Word Processing, Sound Manipulation, Spreadsheets, Databases and Drawing/Desk Top Publishing (The Standards Site, 2006) . Recently, there has been a lot of interest in the ways in which children interact with computer technology, with the research area of Child Computer Interaction becoming recognised within the HCI community. This research in Child Computer Interaction is often focused on the effect that the technology has on the everyday tasks that children do, as well as suggesting guidelines for g ood design (Read & Horton, 2004; Read et al, 2004).