Peripherals/Child Friendly Mouse: Difference between revisions

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Many young children don’t have well-developed motor skills (fine motor skills in the hand and fingers typically develop fully between the ages of 5 and 6) and often have trouble using a traditional mouse or touchpad. This can lead to frustration and detract from the educational experience.
[http://wiki.laptop.org/images/e/e7/Mouse_Squeeze_Flyer.pdf Additional Information]


*Some mice made by Apple use the entire body of the mouse as a single button.
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Young children have not yet fully developed their motor skills (fine motor skills in the hand and fingers typically develop fully between the ages of 5 and 6) and have trouble using traditional mouse buttons. Studies show they click next to targets. The act of pressing down is not intuitive, causing problems with “drag & drop.” Kids tend to grip all their fingers at the same time, thus squeezing the mouse rather than “clicking.” This leads to frustration and detracts from the educational experience.


*A track ball works for some children. It can be easier to coordinate than a mouse, with the positioning -- rolling the ball, and selection -- clicking a button on the base actions separated. Being self contained, the track ball also removes the need for a relatively clean and smooth surface to operate on.
The Child Friendly Mouse was invented by Curtis Whitcomb, a pediatric clinical audiologist and developed with assistance from Dr. Carrie Mori, a pediatric occupational therapist. It seeks to solve the issues facing children when they use a traditional "PS/2" mouse. It fits neatly in small hands and makes the mouse easy to use by including:

* a tactile plate that nestles child’s fingers
*The pressure-sensitive bump in the middle of the keyboard on some laptops may be a good option. It is certainly resistant to fouling with debris.
* a single mouse button which avoids unwanted “right-click” activities

* no top mouse buttons
*The "analog" thumb joysicks found on many Nintendo controllers are proven with kids.
* light, sound and/or vibration feedback possible


[[category:peripherals]]
[[category:peripherals]]

Latest revision as of 09:14, 12 January 2008

Many young children don’t have well-developed motor skills (fine motor skills in the hand and fingers typically develop fully between the ages of 5 and 6) and often have trouble using a traditional mouse or touchpad. This can lead to frustration and detract from the educational experience.

  • Some mice made by Apple use the entire body of the mouse as a single button.
  • A track ball works for some children. It can be easier to coordinate than a mouse, with the positioning -- rolling the ball, and selection -- clicking a button on the base actions separated. Being self contained, the track ball also removes the need for a relatively clean and smooth surface to operate on.
  • The pressure-sensitive bump in the middle of the keyboard on some laptops may be a good option. It is certainly resistant to fouling with debris.
  • The "analog" thumb joysicks found on many Nintendo controllers are proven with kids.
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