Help Kiosk: An Augmented Display System to Assist Older Adults to Learn How to Use Smart Phones
Zachary Wilson, Helen Yin, Sayan Sarcar, Rock Leung, Joanna McGrenere · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18) · doi:10.1145/3234695.3241008
Summary
This demonstration paper presents Help Kiosk (HK), a system that uses a large 19-inch touchscreen display to temporarily augment a smartphone's small screen during learning episodes for older adults. The system addresses two converging trends: rapidly growing populations of adults 65+ (projected to reach 27% of developed nations by 2050) and increasing smartphone adoption, which remains lower among older adults partly due to difficulty learning to use the devices. Small phone screens cannot effectively provide interactive help, and printed instruction manuals require constant attention-switching between the manual and the device. Help Kiosk is built on four design principles: support self-directed learning (users repeat instructions at their own pace), utilize real-time device state (the system checks whether each instruction has been correctly followed), provide both generic and specific instructions (each step appears as text instructions, a Live View mirroring the phone screen, and a demo video), and minimize demands on working memory (larger fonts, reduced need for visual swapping between screens). The prototype connects to a Samsung Galaxy S7 via USB and supports six common tasks: making calls, sending messages, taking photos, viewing images, adding contacts, and setting alarms.
Key findings
A mixed-methods study with 16 older adults (ages 55-81, mean 65.9) compared Help Kiosk against the phone's official printed instruction manual. Quantitatively, task completion times were similar between both systems (no significant difference). However, qualitative findings revealed important experiential differences: HK supported self-directed learning with participants feeling empowered to learn at their own speed; HK required less attention switching — participants did not need to constantly shift gaze between instructions and phone as they did with the manual; and even when instruction wording was identical, participants perceived HK's instructions as easier to follow. The Live View feature was particularly valued because it enabled participants to confirm which steps they had already completed. More participants (8 vs. 5) reported feeling their learning was "better supported" by HK. However, some participants found the paper manual more comfortable to read, and speculated it might better support incidental learning (discovering tasks while flipping through). An unexpected finding was that many participants were more experienced with smartphones than anticipated, suggesting a need for more advanced task content.
Relevance
This paper addresses the growing digital divide affecting older adults as essential services increasingly migrate to smartphone-based interfaces. The approach of augmenting a small device with a temporary large display during learning is pragmatic and deployable — kiosks could be placed in libraries, senior centers, or community spaces where older adults could visit to learn new smartphone skills independently. The design principles — particularly real-time feedback on whether steps were correctly followed and minimizing attention-switching between instruction source and device — are broadly applicable to any technology training for older users. For practitioners, the finding that identical instruction text was perceived as easier to follow on the kiosk than in print suggests that presentation context matters as much as content quality. The study also reveals a heterogeneity challenge: the older adult population spans a wide range of technology experience, requiring learning systems that serve both true beginners and more confident users seeking advanced skills.
Tags: aging · mobile accessibility · digital literacy · learning · older adults · scaffolding · smartphone · user experience · display technology