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The apps for drawing are present in our children's life. Nevertheless, little is known about the impact of mobile technology on the freehand drawing educational activity. There are few works which are contextualised within short periods of time, with teachers who are not theirs and, in some cases, outside the children's classroom. In this paper, we are focussed on the use of technology on freehand drawing activity. Thus, we have compared the graphics produced by 4- and 5-year-old children with paper&crayon in comparison with those with tablet-finger. Children made the drawings during a planned free-drawing activity, in their ordinary classrooms, with their teachers and during five sessions. Assessment of drawings has evidenced tablet feasibility for making graphics. Nevertheless, with the passing of time, quality of graphics (tablet-finger vs paper&crayons), are nearly matched, demonstrating the low impact level technology has on this activity. In addition, if drawings are analysed specifically according to ages, results have shown that both groups have to develop adaptation strategies of visual perceptual skills and fine motor skills for the touch screen in order to obtain the same quality in the drawings made on both support types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile technologies used for education may offer advantages for children with Communication Disorders, among which we can find language disorders and speech disorders, which are identified in DSM-V. In this research, we have introduced two educational activities, "Matching Cards" and "Cards & Sounds", based on the Montessori Method and which deal with the first stages of reading and writing. We have tested these two activities with children with and without Communication Disorders in order to study how they interact. These groups of children use a Tablet to perform the two activities, which vary in visual and auditory stimuli. The activities employ two touch interactions: tap and drag & drop. Based on Montessori, the activity and the interaction do not produce either positive or negative feedback. The analysis performed with the variables of time, interaction and mistake has shown that children from both groups change their efficiency of use. Differences regarding the interaction of children with and without Communication Disorders have also been observed. Additionally, children with Communication Disorders need additional strategies as explicit indicators in the interaction which may be a guide to be able to carry out specific actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]