CONTACT: Neil Charness(850) 644-6686
By Jill ElishFebruary 2001
TROUBLE WITH YOUR MOUSE? TRY A LIGHT PEN, FSU RESEARCHER SAYS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--Older adults having trouble using a mouse to perform computer tasks may be better served by using a pointing device such as a light pen, according to a new Florida State University study.
Neil Charness, professor of psychology at FSU, said a light pen minimized the differences in performance between younger and older computer users in a series of experiments he conducted to determine whether the type of computer input device "a mouse or light pen" could narrow the performance gap.
In the experiment, 72 adults, divided into three age groups ( 18-28, 45-55 and 65-80 ) conducted a number of exercises using both devices. All had at least five hours of previous experience using a mouse, and even the experienced mouse users performed better in pointing tasks using the light pen, Charness said.
In addition, people who were asked to use their nonpreferred hand to complete pointing and clicking tasks performed better with the light pen than the mouse. That finding suggests that those who no longer have use of their preferred hand because of disease or disability may find it easier to use a light pen, a pointing device that causes the cursor to appear instantly when placed in front of the computer screen. Touching the screen with the pen tip is the same as pressing a mouse button.
"Choosing a direct positioning device, such as a light pen or touch screen, will minimize age differences in performance, something that would be expected to improve productivity when people use computers," Charness said.
"Further, the relatively weak difference in performance between preferred and non-preferred hands gives us hope that if injury or disease impaired our preferred hand, we could adapt pretty quickly to using the other hand for computer tasks."
Light pens do have some drawbacks. They are more expensive -- about $500 -- compared to the more economical mouse, which typically costs about $20, according to Charness. And Charness must do further study to determine the effectiveness of the light pen when people combine tasks, such as typing and pointing.
The study was part of Charness' work with the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) to explore problems older adults have with typical computer components and recommend changes to product designers. The most unexpected result of the study was that people were not very good judges of what device would work best for them, Charness said.
"There was surprisingly little relation between preference and performance," he said. "The finding that people were not good judges of what was best for them suggests that computer hardware and software designers cannot simply design a highly flexible interface with the expectation that people will customize it effectively. Designers should try to develop and offer configurations that are optimized for different types of users."
CREATE, an FSU partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Miami School of Medicine and UM's College of Engineering, was established to help ensure that older Americans can use technology. Funded by the National Institute of Aging (NIA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), the center is developing a comprehensive database that will include information on user needs and preferences, shortcomings of existing technical systems and suggestions on possible designs that could help increase technology use.
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