School of Communication and Culture

Although digital interactive technology offers innovative, scarcely explored types of instruction, conventional analog paper booklets remain the main instruction format for children’s construction play. We examined how a fan-built, digital interactive instructions prototype affected children’s construction play compared to an analog booklet. We studied two LEGO building tasks among 20 eight-nine year-old boys. Ten used the prototype on an iPad, 10 the booklet. Using a quasi-experimental research design built on cognitive load theory, we found notable differences in the two construction play processes. Participants with the analog booklet had a faster, more fluent process, while the digital prototype group was more often distracted and seeking help. We propose basic design recommendations for digital interactive instructions for children’s construction play, i.e., include a rotational feature, animations, pace control, few buttons, and realistic colors.