Multi-touch gestures in multimodal systems interaction among preschool children

摘要

Multi-touch gesture interactions have grown in popularity since the emergence of various types of tablets and smart phones. This simple and natural type of interaction has attracted users from all ages. Children are among the regular users who interact with multi-touch gestures; they learn to interact with touch screens even before they can speak. Additionally, children are also introduced with multi-touch technology for learning purposes in preschool. However, children face difficulties in accurately performing core multi-touch gestures (zoom-in, zoom-out, and rotate), as they are more accustomed to performing simple gesture like tapping. Thus, this paper proposes a conceptual framework on multi-touch gestures in multimodal systems interaction for preschool children aged 4-6 years from a Malaysian context. A semi-structured interview was conducted among ten preschool teachers in the Peninsular Malaysia through a telephone call. Three difficulty factors were identified, which are the ergonomics, the need for practical guidance, and the children's limited motor and cognitive skills. These results prove that the potential of multimodal interaction is a relevant solution in early childhood education at a preschool or kindergarten level.