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Donker, A., & Reitsma, P. (2007). Young children's ability to use a computer mouse.
Computers and Education, 48(4), 602-617.
Introduction
The computer mouse is a common input device for educational software. There is little
research done on how accurate young children are able to use a computer mouse. The little
research that has been done does show a correlation between input devices and eye-hand
coordination.

The continuous development of motor skills in young children can cause

difficulties in executing subtle and delicate movements that require eye-hand coordination. It is
suggested in research that children learning to write are practicing their motor skills, which not
only improves their writing performance, but also other motor-tasks, such as handling a
computer mouse.
In a previous research article, it reported that there are three action stages in pointing at
an object with the mouse. The three stages are: rushing towards the target, reducing speed, and
aiming precisely. Also, by clicking, pressing and/or releasing the mouse button while keeping
the mouse still, adds a fourth stage.

When moving an object, these four stages must be

completed twice while maintaining pressure on the mouse button. Therefore, moving an object
is more demanding and can lead to more errors especially in young children with the developing
of motor skills. Nonetheless, there are two procedures that can be used to move objects on a
computer screen: drag-and-drop or click-move-click.

From past research, it cannot be

determined which is faster and more efficient for young children to use, drag-and-drop or clickmove-click.
The authors examined two research questions.

The first question investigated the

proficiency in young children to click on small objects at various positions on the screen. The

independent variable is clicking on small objects at various positions on the screen.

The

dependent variable is the proficiency of clicking objects. The second question investigated the
capability of young children to move objects over the screen, using drag-and-drop and clickmove-click.

The independent variable is using drag-and-drop and click-move-click.

The

dependent variable is how well young children move objects over the screen.
Method
The study was conducted of Dutch children from Kindergarten 2 to Grade 1 from three
schools in Amsterdam. The children in Grade 1 received at least six months of formal training in
reading and writing. There were a total of 104 children who participated, 29 boys and 24 girls
from Kindergarten 2, and 26 boys and 25 girls from Grade 1. There were 89 children who were
right-handed and 15 children who were left-handed. All the left-handed children used the mouse
with their right hand except for one. The sampling method was not discussed in this article.
The study was measuring two things with the use of a mouse: aiming and clicking, and
moving objects. The instrument used for measuring aiming and clicking consisted of three dots
appearing on the screen, two where white and one was red. The red dot was the target to aim for
and click. The dots were either displayed horizontally or vertically. After the child would select
the red dot, a new arrangement of dots would show up.

There were twelve different

arrangements that were displayed for completion. The data collected for aiming and clicking
was horizontal and vertical accuracy, and reaction time. Reaction time was measured in seconds,
from the time of the red dot presented on the screen to the moment of the child clicking on the
dot.
The second instrument used for moving objects was a software program called,
Leescirus. For each trial, the children would compare two words with a picture, the last letter in

one of the words did not fit, and that letter would be moved to the waste bin. The location of the
waste bin would impact moving the letters horizontally or vertically and short or long distances.
There were eight trials for each drag-and-drop and click-move-click. The data collected for
moving objects was the total time, movement speed, selection errors, drop or interaction errors,
mouse slips, and procedure preference. Total time is the duration of the time from the first time
the children pressed the mouse button to the last time they released the mouse button, errors
included. Movement speed is determined with a formula. Selection error is counted by not
accurately selecting the letter. Dropped and interaction errors are failed drag attempts during
drag-and-drop and click-move-click. Mouse slips are when you do not select the correct area
during drag-and-drop. The last measurement was determined by asking the children which
procedure they preferred: drag-and-drop or click-move-click. Reliability and validity and the
design of study were not discussed in this article.
Results
The results showed that aiming was more difficult in a vertical direction than a horizontal
direction due to the number of pixels away from the center of the red dot that children would
click on. On average, the reaction time was 2.95 seconds. When the dots were placed closer
together the reaction time became longer than when the dots were placed far apart from one
another. Even though Grade 1 did not click more accurately than Kindergarten 2, Grade 1 did
click faster. There was not a significant difference between boys and girls, but it did conclude
that clicking on items that are closer together (considered to be more difficult), develops for boys
sooner than girls.
The results showed for moving objects that children needed on average 3.2 seconds to
move the altered letter to the waste bin. On average, there were 16% selection errors, 19%

interaction errors, and 5% drop errors. The results concluded that Grade 1 made fewer errors in
all three categories of errors, moved the mouse faster, and needed less time to complete trials.
There were no significant differences between boys and girls or left-handed and right-handed.
The results also showed that moving horizontally resulted in faster speeds than when moving the
mouse vertically. Children made more drop errors during short distances vertically than a short
distance horizontally and visa versa for long distances, making more errors horizontally. The
majority said that they preferred drag-and-drop.
Discussion
This study shows that young children are capable of using a computer mouse. They can
precisely aim a mouse and move objects, even though they need more time to complete some of
the tasks. Overall, it was easier for children to move the mouse horizontally than vertically.
However, with the drop errors, it was suggested for a future study to investigate more on the
causes of drop errors. The movement procedure, drag-and-drop was faster and had fewer drop
errors, concluding that the drag-and-drop is a more suitable movement procedure for young
children. In this study, the children were not stimulated to perform tasks quickly, perhaps,
causing children to value accuracy more than speed. However, it is suggested that if children
were asked to focus on speed, that the objects may need to be larger. With this idea, it leads to a
future study about how accurately children click on objects of different shapes and sizes.
Evaluation
This study had little research to analyze, but what was given was valuable. Because of
the lack of research done on this topic, the rationale for doing this study was adequate. The
quality of the participants was adequate, however, the study mentioned reading and writing
having an effect on the proficiency of using a mouse. The participants were in two categories,

Grade 1 having six more months of training in reading and writing than Kindergarten 2. To be
more specific, perhaps the study should have made these two different categories in each grade.
With the information given, the sampling method used in this study would be a convenience
sample because the participants were easily available and no random sampling was performed to
select participants.
The instruments that were used to collect the data for aiming and clicking, and moving
objects were adequate.

The study did not talk about the reliability and validity of the

instruments. From the information gathered, the instruments used seemed reliable, as they were
classified as educational software programs.

The study shared the average of all 104

participants, which were consistent with one another. From the article and the results there
seems to be validity, because the instrument measured what it was supposed to measure.
The data collection was adequate even though there was an overwhelming amount of
items being measured for both aiming and clicking, and moving objects. The design was not
stated in the study, but from the information given, posttest-only control-group design fits the
bill. The key description for this design was that there is no pretest at the beginning of the study.
Also, we have a control group and treatment group. The control group was Kindergarten 2 who
did not have six months of reading and writing training. The treatment group was Grade 1 who
did have six months of training in reading and writing.
The results concluded for this study clearly answered the research questions stated. The
conclusion of the study was convincing and well supported with evidence. The study even
determined further research that could be done from the results of this study. The contribution of
this study is unique and enlightening for educators.