The Role of Materiality in Tangibles for Young Children's Digital Art Drawings

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of materiality in tangible interaction design for young children. We specifically target children aged 4 to 6 years old because of societal trend of early exposure to touch screen devices for children. This study compares three types of material (felt, wood, and plastic) for tangibles along with touch-based interaction and how the differences implicate child art creation on an iPad application. Through mixed-methods analysis of twenty-six participants’ experiences, we use data sources of video recordings, drawings, and interview. The main findings looked at the relationship in hardness between digital and physical tools as well as the differences of interactions when using finger-based and stylus pens for physical drawing tools. The findings from this study may be applied to design tangible user interfaces for young children.