Bringing tabletop technologies to kindergarten children

Marco, Javier, Cerezo, Eva, Baldassarri, Sandra, Mazzone, Emanuela and Read, Janet C orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-7138-1643 (2009) Bringing tabletop technologies to kindergarten children. In: BCS-HCI '09: 23rd British HCI Group Annual Conference on People and Computers: Celebrating People and Technology, 2009, Swinton, UK.

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Official URL: http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1671023

Abstract

Taking computer technology away from the desktop and into a more physical, manipulative space, is known that provide many benefits and is generally considered to result in a system that is easier to learn and more natural to use. This paper describes a design solution that allows kindergarten children to take the benefits of the new pedagogical possibilities that tangible interaction and tabletop technologies offer for manipulative learning. After analysis of children's cognitive and psychomotor skills, we have designed and tuned a prototype game that is suitable for children aged 3 to 4 years old. Our prototype uniquely combines low cost tangible interaction and tabletop technology with tutored learning. The design has been based on the observation of children using the technology, letting them freely play with the application during three play sessions. These observational sessions informed the design decisions for the game whilst also confirming the children's enjoyment of the prototype.


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