Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.

Developmentally appropriate access to technology can support toddlers in learning and play. While touch screens are a popular interaction modality for children under the age of three, they may not be appropriate for all children or all tasks. We know comparatively little about how toddlers interact...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kimberly A Ingraham, Heather A Feldner, Katherine M Steele
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316097
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850083841935409152
author Kimberly A Ingraham
Heather A Feldner
Katherine M Steele
author_facet Kimberly A Ingraham
Heather A Feldner
Katherine M Steele
author_sort Kimberly A Ingraham
collection DOAJ
description Developmentally appropriate access to technology can support toddlers in learning and play. While touch screens are a popular interaction modality for children under the age of three, they may not be appropriate for all children or all tasks. We know comparatively little about how toddlers interact with joystick-based technology, and more fundamental research is required to understand joystick interactions at different ages and developmental stages. We quantified how 36 nondisabled toddlers used a joystick to play a cause-and-effect game on a computer. Children demonstrated a strong preference for moving the joystick forward first, regardless of the target direction. On average, the oldest children navigated the joystick to the target 5 seconds faster than the youngest children, and were nearly twice as efficient in their joystick path. These findings inform the design of assistive algorithms for joystick-enabled computer play and developmentally appropriate technologies for toddlers.
format Article
id doaj-art-e69729080037417883b521c54dd9e913
institution DOAJ
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-e69729080037417883b521c54dd9e9132025-08-20T02:44:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-011912e031609710.1371/journal.pone.0316097Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.Kimberly A IngrahamHeather A FeldnerKatherine M SteeleDevelopmentally appropriate access to technology can support toddlers in learning and play. While touch screens are a popular interaction modality for children under the age of three, they may not be appropriate for all children or all tasks. We know comparatively little about how toddlers interact with joystick-based technology, and more fundamental research is required to understand joystick interactions at different ages and developmental stages. We quantified how 36 nondisabled toddlers used a joystick to play a cause-and-effect game on a computer. Children demonstrated a strong preference for moving the joystick forward first, regardless of the target direction. On average, the oldest children navigated the joystick to the target 5 seconds faster than the youngest children, and were nearly twice as efficient in their joystick path. These findings inform the design of assistive algorithms for joystick-enabled computer play and developmentally appropriate technologies for toddlers.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316097
spellingShingle Kimberly A Ingraham
Heather A Feldner
Katherine M Steele
Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.
PLoS ONE
title Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.
title_full Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.
title_fullStr Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.
title_full_unstemmed Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.
title_short Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play.
title_sort forward first joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316097
work_keys_str_mv AT kimberlyaingraham forwardfirstjoystickinteractionsoftoddlersduringdigitalplay
AT heatherafeldner forwardfirstjoystickinteractionsoftoddlersduringdigitalplay
AT katherinemsteele forwardfirstjoystickinteractionsoftoddlersduringdigitalplay