Surveying Disadvantaged Children’s Traffic Safety Education in a Comparison between Paper and Electronic Methods: A Case Example for the Expanded Use of Educational Technology

Abstract

New generations of children are growing up amidst rapidly developing modern technology that completely changes how educational content is presented, how children’s skills and attitudes are developing, and the way children are tested on what they know, including with regard to traffic safety education. In contrast to participants from many existing studies for which data have been collected via personal computer devices, children who are disadvantaged have minimal experience of the use of hi-tech tablet computers. Thus, in this experiment, we aimed to compare the results of a test on traffic safety taken by socially disadvantaged children in two different formats: a traditional method (paper form); and a contemporary method (tablet computer). We found these children to be more engaged with touch screens than with paper tests and more naturally interested in interacting with tablet computers, which resulted in their achieving better results in tests in the field of traffic safety education. We discussed the benefits of conducting studies in which children use tablet computers for assessing their behavior in traffic situations, while highlighting the methodological challenges of this approach and potential solutions.