Mastering the machine: A comparison of the mouse and touch screen for children's use of computers

Abstract

Young children present special problems for the design of instructional computer interfaces. Because they lack the relevant language skills, the keyboard is not an effective input device for preschoolers. If young children cannot operate the computer, then even the best educational software will be unable to make them learn from it. We tested whether the mouse or touch screen provided an effective input device for preschoolers. The children were given four tasks, three of which involved selecting objects on the screen and one that required moving displayed objects. The touch screen showed clear advantages over the mouse on all four tasks. Both devices produced characteristic errors. The children tended to land on the touch screen with more than one finger. They often rotated the mouse while moving it, and had particular difficulty coordinating clicking and dragging. The results argue that the touch screen is the input device of choice for children's early computer use.