How does Fitts' law fit pointing and dragging?

Gillan, Douglas J.; Holden, Kritina; Adam, Susan C.; Rudisill, Marianne; Magee, Laura

doi:10.1145/97243.97278

Cited by 71 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…We have not seen studies reporting on this significant of a difficulty dragging in block-based languages, but have anecdotally observed tiles going otherwise than where they were wanted in all of these systems. Past human-computer interaction research [55][56][57] has found that point-and-click interfaces may involve fewer errors and be faster than dragand-drop, although recent research with children [58] has shown that they may both expect and prefer drag-and-drop interfaces. Ludi [59] has noted accessibility problems with contemporary block languages for users with motor or visual impairments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons in combining block-based and textual programming

Homer¹,

Noble²

2017

VLSS

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Tiled Grace is a block-based programming system backed by a conventional textual language that allows switching back and forth between block-based and textual editing of the same code at any time. We discuss the design choices of Tiled Grace in light of existing research and a user experiment conducted with it. We also examine the sorts of task preferred in each mode by users who had the choice of editing either as blocks or as text, and find both positive and cautionary notes for block-based programming in the results.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons in combining block-based and textual programming

Homer¹,

Noble²

2017

VLSS

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“…While the speed-accuracy trade-off has been extensively studied in adults (Beggs & Howarth, 1970;Bootsma, Marteniuk, MacKenzie, & Zaal, 1994;Carlton & Newell, 1979;Crossman & Goodeve, 1983;Gillan, Holden, Adam, Rudisill, & Magee, 1990;Knight & Dagnall, 1967;Megaw, 1979), there are fewer studies in children (Salmoni, Pascoe, Roberts, & Newell, 25 1978;Salmoni, 1983;Sugden, 1980;Wallace, Newell, & Wade, 1978). The participants in the aforementioned studies were four to twelve years old.…”

Section: Fitts' Law In Reaching Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infants in Control: Prospective Motor Control and Executive Functions in Action Development

Gottwald¹

2018

Preprint

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This thesis assesses the link between action and cognition early in development. Thus the notion of an embodied cognition is investigated by tying together two levels of action control in the context of reaching in infancy: prospective motor control and executive functions.The ability to plan our actions is the inevitable foundation of reaching our goals. Thus actions can be stratified on different levels of control. There is the relatively low level of prospective motor control and the comparatively high level of cognitive control. Prospective motor control is concerned with goal-directed actions on the level of single movements and movement combinations of our body and ensures purposeful, coordinated movements, such as reaching for a cup of coffee. Cognitive control, in the context of this thesis more precisely referred to as executive functions, deals with goal-directed actions on the level of whole actions and action combinations and facilitates directedness towards mid-and long-term goals, such as finishing a doctoral thesis. Whereas prospective motor control and executive functions are well studied in adulthood, the early development of both is not sufficiently understood.This thesis comprises three empirical motion-tracking studies that shed light on prospective motor control and executive functions in infancy. Study I investigated the prospective motor control of current actions by having 14-month-olds lift objects of varying weights. In doing so, multi-cue integration was addressed by comparing the use of visual and non-visual information to non-visual information only. Study II examined the prospective motor control of future actions in action sequences by investigating reach-to-place actions in 14-month-olds. Thus the extent to which Fitts' law can explain movement duration in infancy was addressed. Study III lifted prospective motor control to a higher that is cognitive level, by investigating it relative to executive functions in 18-months-olds.Main results were that 14-month-olds are able to prospectively control their manual actions based on object weight. In this action planning process, infants use different sources of information. Beyond this ability to prospectively control their current action, 14-month-olds also take future actions into account and plan their actions based on the difficulty of the subsequent action in action sequences. In 18-month-olds, prospective motor control in manual actions, such as reaching, is related to early executive functions, as demonstrated for behavioral prohibition and working memory. These findings are consistent with the idea that executive functions derive from prospective motor control. I suggest that executive functions could be grounded in the development of motor control. In other words, early executive functions should be seen as embodied.

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“…Too much information presented simultaneously may increase cognitive load (Sweller, 1988) associated with a cluttered visual environment. Increasing the amount of available screen space puts some information in the user's visual periphery, increasing the number and size of required eye, head, and mouse movements (Fitts, 1954;Gillan et al, 1990;Robinson, 1979;Whisenand and Emurian, 1999). In its "widest" configuration (i.e., at least three monitors are active^), information at the centers of the peripheral monitors of the K-Desk can be separated by 52° (60° separates information on the two farthest ends of the K-Desk).…”

Section: Benefits and Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%