The effect of a four-week, web-based visual skills training program on attention, timing and eye-hand coordination in 13 to 15-year-old adolescents

Abstract

There is a rising concern that more and more children struggle to pay attention and to concentrate in school. The ability to concentrate on a task, switching attention between different tasks and inhibiting impulsive responses is very important in developing cognitive control. This lack of attention can negatively influence school performance, motor skills development, the acquisition of sport skills and eventually sport performance. Visual skills are needed for daily activities such as reading and writing and this assists in the ability to attend to these tasks. This study aims to determine whether a web-based, computerized visual skills training program has an influence on cognitive skills such as continuous attention, timing, as well as proactive and reactive eye-hand coordination skills. Forty-two adolescents (aged 13 - 15 years) participated in this study. The adolescents were divided into an experimental group (n = 23) and a controlled group (n = 19). Preand post-cognitive sustained attention and timing tests, as well as eye-hand including proactive and reactive coordination tests were conducted.