How might multi-touch technology be a powerful aid for preschoolers’ development of numerical abilities?

We analyzed three software applications for the iPad (apps) that we believe yield a potential in fostering preschoolers‘ development of numerical abilities. We then used these to design a training protocol. Our objective was to qualitatively test this protocol. This was done in a preliminary study with 14 children. The protocol consists of a 30 hour training intervention for 4 and 5 year old children using the apps. All training sessions were video recorded and analyzed with respect to gestures and strategies (and their development) used by the children in each digital environment. Each child‘s performance in one of the apps was recorded, in order to monitor individual progress and compare children‘s performances. The study confirms that it is possible to use our designed protocol to train young children, and thatindeed the development of some of the component abilities for more complex numerical abilities do seem to be strengthened by the training