Children's questions: A study of questions children ask while learning to use a computer

This paper reports the results of a study conducted at a Texas elementary school which examined the types of questions children ask as they learn to use a computer. Throughout the study, a log was kept of each child's questions. Questions were then classified into eight distinct categories. Results indicate that children asked the most questions about the keyboard, how to enter data and the meaning of program instructions. Children also had difficulty remembering operating system commands and had problems distinguishing characters on the screen. Elaboration of the classification scheme to other populations should add to the general knowledge of human-computer interface and should help improve the understanding of the questioning process.