The Usability of Mobile Applications for Pre-schoolers

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of usability in user interface (UI) design of mobile educational applications (MEA) designed for children aged 4-5 years. Usability testing was conducted with four children to evaluate the UI design based on the children's mental model in addition to the quality of their learning experience. An eye tracking glasses was utilized to capture the children's eye movements while the usability heuristics was used to collect the descriptive data regarding the interface design. Results indicated that the usability study can be considered as a multi-stage problem solving process where it analyses and foresee how the children use a product and the actual first-time users’ intuition of their design experience and learning curve. The observation, eye tracking data and usability testing of the MEA with the four children validates that the UI application was based on the developers and designers adult mental model and guideline or own assumptions. This paper ends with a suggestion of a UI design guideline of design elements and principles for designers and developers to adhere when developing MEA for children