Assessing the Interactivity of 3-year-old Children with an iPad App: The Carnival of the Animals

The purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate 3-year-old children’s interactivities with an iPad application (App): The Carnival of the Animals (COA). Within a naturalistic setting of the home, we examined the documentation of finger movement and video data of two participating children during four weekly visits of free play with the iPad App: COA. The purposes of the study were (1) to track and compare finger movement by 3-year-old children, collecting information on children’s preferences of graphic objects and sound categories; (2) to measure children’s learning “flow;” and to document the degree of enjoyment and level of interest during their interaction with the App; and (3) to collect qualitative data regarding children’s various abilities from interviews of parents, including topics on familiarity of the device, reading, listening, language, music, visual, and special interests. By analyzing the data output from the finger-tracking program, interviews of the parents, and the Flow Indicators in Musical Activities (FIMA, Custodero, 1998), we provide information regarding the characteristics of children’s interactions with the iPad App: COA. Results and recommendations for further
research are presented.