When Less Can Be More: Evaluating the Impact of Animated and Interactive Demonstrations in Voice-Assisted Counting Games for Young Children

dc.contributor.authorKarunaratna, Sulakna Binoka Kumarihamyen
dc.contributor.committeechairLee, Sang Wonen
dc.contributor.committeechairChoi, Koeunen
dc.contributor.committeememberChen, Yanen
dc.contributor.departmentComputer Science and#38; Applicationsen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-18T09:01:01Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-18T09:01:01Zen
dc.date.issued2025-01-17en
dc.description.abstractEarly experiences with counting form a critical foundation for children's numeracy development. Despite the increasing use of voice assistants in young children's math learning, the effectiveness of different levels of demonstration—animated and interactive—accompanied by these assistants remains unclear. This study examines how different demonstrations in touchscreen devices, combined with voice assistants, supported children's developing counting skills. We developed a tablet counting game for children aged 2-4 years, incorporating voice assistant counting. In a user study with 32 children, we compared two conditions (animated and interactive demonstrations), with each condition also being evaluated against a baseline. We found that animated demonstrations improved math performance compared to the baseline, while interactive demonstrations did not. These findings suggest that counting with voice assistants has the potential to support early counting experiences and highlight the importance of designing educational technology with appropriate levels of demonstration to engage young learners without increasing cognitive overload.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralCounting is an important foundation for young children's math skills. As voice assistants become increasingly common in educational technologies, we explored levels of demonstrations such as animated and interactive accompanied by voice assistants on children aged 2-4 to learn how it affects counting. We developed a tablet-based counting game with a voice assistant to explore these different levels of demonstrations. In a study of 32 children, we compared the two approaches: animated and interactive demonstrations, with each condition also being evaluated against a baseline. Interestingly, the animated condition improved counting abilities more than the interactive condition, suggesting that too much interaction might overwhelm young children. These findings can help designers create better educational games that balance interactions and learning without increasing cognitive overload.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:42350en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/124256en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectTouch screenen
dc.subjectchildrenen
dc.subjectCountingen
dc.titleWhen Less Can Be More: Evaluating the Impact of Animated and Interactive Demonstrations in Voice-Assisted Counting Games for Young Childrenen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineComputer Science & Applicationsen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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