Association between Screen Size and Touch Accuracy based on a Computerized Fitts’ Law Test

Abstract

Screen size does not only imply a certain resolution but fundamentally a different user’s experience in human computer interaction. A screen size has major effects on the content consumption and in tasks performance during the learning sessions. The issue of an ill-fitting screen size becomes a big challenge in learning performance with increased cognitive load, split attention span, and increased difficulty in completing exercises and tasks. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect that a screen size has on child-computer interaction, and to recommend the best practice screen size for pre-school children to interact with computers. A Fitts’ Law based application that is named Catch-the-stars has been employed to investigate the screen size that best suits pre-school children, through two types of screen size, specifically a tablet and an all-in-1 multi-touch PC. Each participant is required to touch the stars that appear on the screen until the count of 18. Correspondingly, a total of 103 pre-school children have participated in the testing for a period of 8 months. The results indicate that screen size is an important factor that influences the quality of the child-computer interaction. The study has revealed that the tablet’s screen size is the best screen size for pre-school children to interact with computers. This study suggests that screen size is critical to the success of effective learning and that the performance of child-computer interaction is varied based on the different screen sizes.