Gestures by Children and Adults on Touch Tables and Touch Walls in a Public Science Center

Abstract

Research on children's interactions with touchscreen devices has examined small and large screens and compared interaction to adults or among children of different ages. Little work has explicitly compared interaction on different platforms, however. Large touchscreen displays can be deployed flat, as in a table, or vertically, as on a wall. While these two form factors have been studied, it is not known what differences may exist between them. We present a study of visitors to a science museum, including children and their parents, who interacted with Google Earth on either a touch table or a touch wall. We compare the types of gestures and interactions attempted on each device and find several interesting results, including: users of all ages tend to make standard touchscreen gestures on both platforms, but children were more likely than adults to try new gestures. Users were more likely to perform two-handed, multi-touch gestures on the touch wall than on the touch table. Our findings will inform the design of future interactive applications for each platform. CCS Concepts • Human-centered computing~Gestural input • Human-centered computing~Empirical studies in HCI • Human-centered computing~Touch screens • Human-centered computing~Field studies • Human-centered computing~Collaborative interaction

Designing Interactions for Multi-touch Spherical Displays to Support Collaborative Learning in Museums

“…Although multi-touch spherical displays have not yet been studied for educational purposes, my research takes inspiration from related work on educational flatscreen tabletop displays. Several studies focusing on science learning with flatscreen tabletops have established that touch interactions play a vital role in supporting group learning in both formal and informal learning settings [1,11]. Shaer et al [11] explored tabletop interactions for classroom science learning and found that allowing groups to spatially manipulate and annotate the learning content using intuitive gestures supported group reflection during collaborative learning.…”

“…Other prior work has explored the role gestural interactions play in affording engagement around tabletop displays, without considering learning. In one of my thesis advisor's prior work, Anthony et al [1] conducted an observational study in a science museum and highlighted design implications for gestural interactions in the context of large flatscreen displays in public. For example, they recommend that designing simple gestural interactions would ensure that users are able to get engaged in science inquiry more quickly.…”

The skin of the map: Viewing cartography through tactile empathy

“…Several studies on human–computer interaction now focus on studying the finger and hand gestures (straight-swipe, arc-swipe, pinch-in, pinch-out, single-tap, multiple-tap, point-to-screen, rotate, above-the-surface and others) of those using large touchscreen displays such as tabletops or smart walls, and some are (accidentally) devoted to cartography. Anthony et al (2016) studied how children and adults interact differently with Google Earth on touch tables and touch walls in a public science centre. Hare et al (2013) investigated group interactions with the shared space of maps displayed on an interactive tabletop, and Zadow et al (2011) studied the interaction with public multi-touch, multi-user GIS systems that were installed in an exhibition.…”

Entertainment with Public Displays and Personal Screens

“…Children have not been entirely neglected in earlier public display research, but research has been limited. Children's use of these systems have been studied in museums [60], parks [61], schools [62] [63][64] and on playgrounds [65]. Several studies around pervasive and public displays have concentrated on learning [22] and behaviour change [65] [62].…”