Journal Article

Forward first: Joystick interactions of toddlers during digital play

Feldner, Heather A., Steele, Katherine M., Ingraham, Kimberly A.

2024

Overview

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.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Age / Algorithms / Animation / Appropriate technology / Behavior / Biology and Life Sciences / Child Development - physiology / Child, Preschool / Children / Children with disabilities / Computer and Information Sciences / Computer Peripherals / Computers / Developmental stages / Female / Health aspects / Humans / Infant / Interactive computer systems / Interfaces / Joystick controllers / Joysticks / Male / Medicine and Health Sciences / People and Places / Personal computers / Play and Playthings / Psychological aspects / Social aspects / Social Sciences / Toddlers / Touch screens / Training / User-Computer Interface / Video Games