Exploring Preschool Children's User Experience in Using Free-Rotate Gestures on Touchscreen Design : The Case of Learning Shapes

Free-rotate gestures enable users to rotate objects on the touchscreen interactively. Therefore, this study was carried out to explore the user experience of preschool children when using free rotate gestures. Five attributes of user experience, namely attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, and stimulation, were examined. The sample of this study consisted of 10 children, aged 5 and 6 years old were instructed to learn shapes by using a mobile application called “Mari Belajar Bentuk”. They were required to use their fingers to touch and rotate several shapes. The analysis showed that all attributes of such construct were deemed high. As conclusion, the overall finding strongly suggests that free rotate gestures on multi-touch screen design can enhance preschool children’s user experience. With high user experience, young children can experience engaging and meaningful learning. Consequently, future research should explore this gesture as it can make young children become highly motivated in learning.

[1]  Judy Radich.  Technology and interactive media as tools in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 , 2013 .

[2]  Lisa K Kervin,et al.  iPads, digital play and pre-schoolers , 2011 .

[3]  Per Ola Kristensson,et al.  Multi-touch rotation gestures: performance and ergonomics , 2013, CHI.

[4]  Elena Navarro,et al.  Multi-touch gestures for pre-kindergarten children , 2015, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[5]  M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale,et al.  Rotation and translation mechanisms for tabletop interaction , 2006, First IEEE International Workshop on Horizontal Interactive Human-Computer Systems (TABLETOP '06).

[6]  Tengku Siti Meriam Tengku Wook,et al.  Children’s Interaction Ability Towards Multi-Touch Gestures , 2016 .

[7]  Mrudula Nimbarte.  Multi-Touch Screen Interfaces And Gesture Analysis: A Study , 2011 .

[8]  Suziah Sulaiman,et al.  Investigation of fingertip contact area and shape for precise target selection on multi-touch screen , 2015, IMCOM.

[9]  Joke Voogt,et al.  Technology and young children: How 4-7 year olds perceive their own use of computers , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[10]  M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale,et al.  Fluid integration of rotation and translation , 2005, CHI.

[11]  Zülfü Genç,et al.  Parents’ Perceptions about the Mobile Technology Use of Preschool Aged Children , 2014 .

[12]  Courtney K. Blackwell,et al.  Teacher practices with mobile technology integrating tablet computers into the early childhood classroom , 2014 .

[13]  Azah Abdul Aziz,et al.  Children’s Interaction with Tablet Applications: Gestures and Interface Design , 2013 .