Interactive Multimedia Technology: games

Showing posts with label games. Show all posts

Aug 5, 2015

Back-to-School Reads For Innovative Teaching and Learning

It is that time of year.

Teachers, students, and parents know that in a few days or weeks, school will begin for the 2015-16 academic year...

The good news?

Some teachers have been busy sharing their ideas, strategies, and resources as they plan ahead. Here are a just a few good links to get started:

8 things every teacher can do to create an innovative classroom
Trevor Shaw, eSchool News, 8/3/15

Elementary Classroom Hacks: Big Ideas at Little Cost
Samantha McBurney, Edutopia, 8/3/15

The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning
Ki Sung, Mind/Shift, 11/18/14

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
University of Houston, 2015

15 Characteristics of a 21st-Century Teacher
Tsisana Palmer, Edutopia, 6/20/15

Engage NY (Common Core Lessons)
New York State Education Department Website

Fractions are hard
David Wee, The Reflective Educator

Seeing Struggling Math Learners as 'Sense Makers', Not 'Mistake Makers'
Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift, 8/4/15

Mistake Makers or Sense Makers, David Wees

More to come!

May 24, 2013

Summer of Fun and Game Development with Unity

Summer of Fun and Game Development- Unity

I just downloaded the GameAnalytics Unity Package and plan to spend some of my summer break digging deeper into Unity. I have been experimenting with Xcode stuff and Leap Motion.

I want to make the most of my 5 weeks "Summer of Code". Unity fits the bill. It has offers a wealth of wonderful online learning resources.

I've explored Unity in the past and loved it, and am very impressed with how it has evolved over the past few years.

I'll add more to this post later!

May 21, 2013

Xbox One and Kinect 2 for the Playground of the Future

Xbox One and Kinect 2, Playground of the Future

The big news in tech today is the unveiling of the new Xbox One/Kinect 2 system. For now, the video below might be the closest you'll get to the system. Wired's senior editor, Peter Rubin had a chance to interview Scott Evans, of Microsoft, as he demonstrated the fascinating technical details in a family-room type setting.

Wired's interview of Scott Evans and demo of the new Xbox One and Kinect 2, using Active IR technology.

From what I learned, the new Kinect sensor has six times the fidelity of the previous version. Paired with the new Xbox One, it can do amazing things. Engineers from around the world collaborated on this project, providing expertise in facial recognition, digital signal processing, speech recognition, machine learning, and computer vision. The Xbox One is fueled by an 8-core x86 processor, supported by 8GB of RAM, which is sure to handle the hardest gamer's needs. It also includes a 500GB hard drive and an HD Blu-ray player.

The new system was designed to enhance the gaming/user experience. The 1080p camera provides a field of view that is 60 degrees larger than its predecessor, and can handle a high level of detail. It provides a better means of interpreting movement and orientation, and it processes skeleton and hand movements more precisely. The system features "muscle man", a human-based physics model that is layered over the skeleton and depth map. It senses and calculating the forces the player uses while moving in a game.

What I find interesting is that the camera can detect the player's pulse by measuring subtle changes of the skin that can't be perceived by the naked eye. It also can quickly identify each player (it handles up to six), and identify facial expressions. The active IR (infrared) system provides the system with better accuracy than the original Kinect.

I wasn't able to find out much information regarding privacy issues with this system. This is a concern, since it can sense your physiological responses, movement patterns, and facial expressions. Over time, a good deal of very personal information would be gathered about each user. I shudder to think about the consequences if the data fell into the wrong hands.

Possibilities for Special Needs Populations

I can see that the Xbox One + Kinect 2 system has the potential for games and other interactive applications for use in physical rehabilitation and fitness. Since it can interpret facial expressions, it could also provide a way to support social skills learning among children and teens who have autism spectrum disorders.

Microsoft invests a good deal of attention to proof-of-concept projects that may or not become part of a commercial product. Below is an example of IllumiRoom:

Hrvoje Benko, of Microsoft Research, discusses the IllumiRoom concept during an interview at CHI 2013.

Xbox One Website
The new Xbox One Kinect tracks your heart rate, happiness, hands and hollers
Matthew Panzarino, The Next Web, 5/22/13
Kinect 2 Full Video Walkthrough: The Xbox Sees You Like Never Before
Kyle Wagner, Gizmodo, 5/21/13
Hands-on with prototypes of the Xbox One and New Kinect Sensor
Ben Gilbert, engadget, 5/21/13
Efficient Human Pose Estimation from Single Depth Images
Shotton, J., Girshick, R., Fitzgibbon, A., Sharp, T., Cook, M., Finocchio, M., Moore, R., Kohli, P., Crinisi, A., Kipman, A., Blake, A. Video
Consumer Depth Cameras for Computer Vision: Research Topics and Applications
Fossati, A., Gall, J., Grabner, H., Ren, X., Konolige, K. (Eds.)
Xbox One: Microsoft's supergeeks reveal what's inside the hardware
Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat, 5/21/13
Next Xbox Will Face New Array of Rivals
Nick Wingfield, New York Times, 5/21/13

Apr 1, 2013

The Uncanny Valley is Here! Activision's real-time character demo is chillingly real. (Not an April 1st joke.)

Up with Activision in the Uncanny Valley

I first heard the term 'uncanny valley' about eight or nine years ago when I was taking a 3D-modeling class. At that time, the technology available was not close to reaching this valley - where robots or computer-generated characters are so real that they are almost repulsive.

A lot has changed over the years.

The following video, recently featured by Activision Blizzard during the 2013 Game Developer Conference, has attracted much attention in just a few days, partly because it is so real.

Although I noticed that a little more work needs to be done with the teeth, I was impressed. I liked the quality of the eye shaders that were used in the creation of this demo. Examples of faces created with this feature turned on and off can be found on Jorge Jimenez' blog. Jorge's slides from a 2012 course offered during SIGGRAPH provide additional information.

Computer processers have become powerful enough to handle quite a lot of processing, and the tech world has been spreading the word. Below is a presentation by Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia, about the company's work simulate the human face, touching on the 'uncanny valley':

Although the use of this technology to create characters, realistic on many levels, seems to be a bit creepy, it might be OK after some refinement. There are a few questions that remain unanswered. What would be the impact on children or teens who might spend many hours each week playing games with such realistic characters? I'd hate to have a nightmare featuring one of these guys!

I think that this technology might have some potential for use in serious games and simulations, such as preparing emergency workers to handle a variety of realistic scenarios. Games with realistic digital characters, capable of generating a range of facial expressions, might be useful to support the learning of social interaction skills among young people with autism spectrum disorders.

RELATED/SOMEWHAT RELATED
Is It Real? With New Technology Has Activision Crossed the 'Uncanny Valley'?
Eyder Peralta, the two-way, NPR, 3/28/13
Activision Reveals Animated Human That Looks So Real, It's Uncanny
Charlie White, Mashable, 3/28/13
Karl F. MacDorman's Writings (some focus on the uncanny valley)
Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Course (SIGGRAPH2012)
Separable Subsurface Scattering and Photorealistic Eyes Rendering (pptx)
Jorge Jimenez, Presenter, SIGGRAPH 2012)
Next Generation of Character Rendering Teaser (pptx)
Jimenez and Team
Crossing the 'uncanny valley': Nvidia's Faceworks renders realistic human faces
Dean Takahashi, VB/Gamesbeat, 3/18/13
Real-Time Realistic Skin Translucency
Jimenez, J., Whealan, D., Sundstedt, V., Gutierrez, D IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 2010
Exploring the Uncanny Valley Research Website (Indiana University School of Informatics)
Gaze-based Interaction for Virtual Environments pdf
Jimenez, J., Gutierrez, D., Latorre, P. Journal of Universal Computer Science
Mori, Masahiro (1970). Bukimi no tani [the uncanny valley] (K. F. MacDorman & T. Minato, Trans.). Energy, 7(4), 33-35.
2013 GPU Technology Conference Keynote Presentations

Sep 20, 2012

Thinking about a Kurio 7 Tablet for your kid? Here is a start!

I haven't had a chance to play with the Kurio, a 7 inch Android tablet designed for children and their families, so I haven't formulated an opinion about the device, or the applications that it runs. I thought I'd share the promotional video and related information/links:

Kurio Tablet from CIDE on Vimeo.

Parents can view a number of "how-to" videos to get the tablet up and running. Developers can apply to be part of the Kurio store. From what I can see, the Kurio is in need of some creative, child-friendly apps.

Below is a hands-on demo:

RELATED
Kurio at Toys'R'Us
Toon Goggles Partners with Techno Source on New Kurio7 Android Tablet for Families
PR Web 7/9/12
Kurio's Features

Toys 'R' Us has its own tablet, the Tabeo:

Apr 22, 2012

Children's Drawings Projected on Buckingham Palace and BBC's Public Big Screens in the UK

Children's self-portraits cover Buckingham Palace (News UK)

Children in the UK were asked to create self-portraits for a special arts project designed to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. The self-portraits were digitized and transformed to create a media facade that was projected on Buckingham Palace. This example of digital art for public viewing was shared on a number of large screen displays in public spaces around the UK.

This project was part of Face Britain. All children in the UK were invited to submit a self-portrait in an attempt to create the largest on-line gallery of self-portraits in the world.

Below is a video about the media facade:

Photo credit: Face Britain
FACE BRITIAN video:

from Children & the Arts on Vimeo.

RELATED
Below are some examples of how BBC's large displays are used for interactive games in public spaces:

BBC's Big Screen Games in Public Spaces:

Mar 14, 2012

Future of Gaming Report SlideShare, from PSFK

PSFK"s Future of Gaming Report [Preview]

View text version View more presentations from PSFK

RELATEDPSFK WebsiteGaming for Good - Piers Fawkes, PSFK. 3/10/12

Mar 13, 2012

IXDA Interaction Awards Winners, 2012: LoopLoop, an interactive music toy app by Stimulant/Sifteo, was best in show!

The Best in Show winner of IXDA's 2012 Interaction Awards was LoopLoop, an interactive music sequencer application for children, created by designers at Stimulant in collaboration with Sifteo.

Stimulant LoopLoop for Sifteo from Stimulant on Vimeo.

RELATED
What are the best examples of interaction design? - Sam McNerney, PSFK, 3/9/12The videos featured in Sam McNerney's post were created by Christian Svanes Kolding for the Interaction Design Association (IXDA) as part of the first annual Interaction Awards in Dublin, Ireland.

IXDA: Interaction Design Asociation
IXDA Interaction Awards
Stimulant Website
LoopLoop For Sifteo Cubes
LoopLoop, an upcoming application produced by Stimulant with the Sifteo SDK
Sifteo Creativity Kit

Oct 22, 2011

Make and Share Your Games Online! Update: Game Creator and the Cartoon Network Website

I came a cross the Cartoon Network's Game Creator website a couple of years ago and thought I'd take a look at how it has grown since my last peek. If you are a kid, educator, or parent, take a look at the updated links below.

As I mentioned in a previous post, some educators might frown upon games and cartoon-related content. The combination of games + cartoons might not be so bad, especially when the activity is something that can be shared in a social context. By participating in the creation of digital games, young people are provided with skills that might just entice them to consider learning more about STEM-related fields. (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

About Game Creator
According to the website, the Cartoon Network's Game Creator is "an application that gives you the power to create your own action games and share them with the world. It leads you through a simple, six-step process and gives you a set of easy-to-use tools to customize your game however you wish. When you finish building a game, you can send it to Cartoon Network's game gallery for other fans to play and rate. The gallery makes it easy for you to play other people's games, rate them, sort them and even share them with your friends."

Ben 10 Game Creator
Parent Information (Ben 10 Game Creator Website)
Clone Wars Game Creator
Parent Information (Clone Wars Game Creator)
Batman Game Creator
Parent Information (Batman Game Creator)
Game Creator Central

Cartoon Network

Lynn Marentette, Interactive Multimedia Technology, 4/25/10

Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator from Cartoon Network: Social Game Creation Online for Kids!

Lynn Marentette, Interactive Multimedia Technology, 7/13/09

SOMEWHAT RELATED

MIXIT Video Creator (Cartoon Network)

Cartoon Network International Sites

Flash Classroom Jeopardy Game Maker

10 Truths About Books and What They Have to Do With Video Games
James Paul Gee, 5/15/11
"There are 10 key truths we know about books. They happen to be equally true of other "meaning making technologies" like television and video games. Thus, in these 10 ways, books and video games are the same." -James Paul Gee

Sep 16, 2011

MindHabits Online Demo: Useful Serious Game for Social Skills Group Activities

I'd like to share the on-line demo of MindHabit's suite of serious games that I've found useful in my work with teens and young adults who need support in the area of social-emotional skills.

What I like about the online demo is that it adjusts to the player's responses. This feature made it fun to use during the last few social skills groups I facilitated at work, since it could be played by students with a range of cognitive abilities. I had students take turns playing the game using a SMARTboard, and found that all of the students paid attention to what was going on. In my opinion, using the interactive whiteboard supported "off-the-shoulder" learning among the students who were not at the board.

MindGames is available for Windows and Macs, and the full version is just $19.99 and provides 100 game levels. The full version tracks progress and includes four games.

Here's some information from the company's website:
"Based on social intelligence research conducted at McGill University, these stress busting, confidence boosting games use simple, fun-to-play exercises designed to help players develop and maintain a more positive state of mind."
"Based on the principles of social intelligence: Inhibition - uses game mechanics to promote positive habits; Association - connects personal info to positive feedback; Activation - uses personal references"

You are playing the MindHabits Trainer online demo. Your progress will not be logged beyond this session.

Upcoming:

Interview with Guillaume Largillier about Stantum's multi-touch tablet.
Collaboration with Stevens Institute of Technology, focusing on a serious game project to support learning of "on-the-job" social skills for teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorders and related challenges.
More news about large interactive displays, multi-touch, and gesture applications/installations.
Cross-platform/device interactive "TV".
Cathy Davidson's new book: Now You See It: How The Brain Science of Attention Will Transform The Way We Live, Work, and Learn (Viking)

May 31, 2011

May 3, 2011

CHI 2011 Workshop Program and Related Links: UI Technologies and Impact on Educational Pedagogy, Related Child-Computer Interaction Papers and Courses

WORKSHOP PROGRAM
CHI 2011 will be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver. The UI Technologies and Pedagogy workshop will be held on Saturday, May 7th, in the West Building, Level 1, Room 119/120.  PDF versions of the following presentations can be found on the workshop's website.

9:00am – 09:05am Introduction
Edward Tse and Johannes Schöning
9:05am - 10:05am Paper Session I (8 min presentation, 4 min Discussion)
Chair: Yvonne Rogers
Evaluating Pervasive Classrooms
• Son Do-Lenh et al.: Classroom-experience evaluation: An ecological approach to evaluating pervasive technologies in classrooms
• Kathryn Rounding et al.: Evaluating Interfaces with Children
• Dan Morris et al.: Using Machine Learning to Scaffold Artistic Creativity in Education
• Tamara Polajnar et al.: Enabling Picture-based Querying and Learning with the JuSe Interface
• Hamed Alavi et al.: Lantern 2.0: A Pervasive Scripting Tool
•Quincy Brown et al.: Mobile Natives: Unlocking the Potential of Educational Technology
10:15am - 11:00am Coffee Break and Preparation time for short talks
11:00am - 12:10pm Paper Session II (8min presentation, 4min Discussion)
Chair: Max Mühlhäuser
Collaboration in Math: Fears, Myths, and Insights.
• Nicola Yull et al.: Pass the iPad: Comparing collaboration on paper and screen
• Veronika Irvine et al.: Math Education: A Creative Approach
• Group talk: Math and Embodied Agents
a.Kristina Richter et al.: Bridging Diagnosis and Learning for Mathematics Education in Classroom Setting
b.Lisa Anthony et al.: Handwriting Interaction for Math Tutors: Lessons for HCI in Education
c.Andrew Jensen et al.: Using Embodied Pedagogical Agents and Direct Instruction to Augment Learning for Young Children with Special Needs
• Group talk: Dispelling Myths About the Next Generation Classroom
a. Alex Thayer et al.: The Myth of the Paperless School: Replacing Printed Texts with E-readers
b.Sharon Oviatt: Designing Digital Tools for Thinking, Adaptive Learning and Cognitive Evolution
c.Alexandra Dunn et al.: Designing Classroom Technology to Meet the Needs of All
• Group talk: Games, Wearables and Fun Learning.
a.Christiane Moser et al.: Child-Centered Game Development
b.Lizbeth Escobedo et al.: Blue’s Clues: An Augmented Reality Positioning System
c.Si Jung Kim et al.: Wearable Story: A Story Telling Jacket for Young Children to Improve Their Independent Physical and Learning Activities
12:10pm - 1:30pm Lunch
1:30pm - 2:30pm Paper Session III (8 min presentation, 4 min Discussion)
Chair: Richard Beckwith
Tangibles and Tabletops
• Izdihar Jamil et al.: Communication Patterns in Collaborative Peer Learning around Interactive Table
• Aura Pon et al.: Graspable Music and Vuzik: Music Learning and Creativity using an Interactive Surface
• Ahmed Kharrufa et al.: Learning at interactive surfaces and designing for reflection
• Cristina Sylla et al.: TOK – a Tangible Interface for Storytelling
• Group talk: Tables and Tangibles
a.Robert Sheehan: Constructionism, Programming and Touch Interfaces
b.Orit Shaer et al.: Making the Invisible Tangible: Learning Biological Engineering in Kindergarten
c.Sebastien Kubicki: Evaluation of an interactive table with tangible objects: Application with children in a classroom
d.Cristina Emilia Costa et al.: I-Theatre: developing narratives skills in kindergarten children
e.Wooi Boon Goh et al.: Potential Challenges in Collaborative Game Design for Inclusive Settings
2:30pm - 3:00pm Coffee Break
3:00pm - 4:00pm   Breakout Discussion (What are future challenges? Next years workshop?)
4:00pm - 4:45pm   Closing Keynote by Allison Druin: Mining the Imagination from Time Travel to Anti-gravity: The Future of Child-Computer Interaction
"If you’ve ever sat with a child imagining the future of new technologies, you will undoubtedly hear about “anti-gravity machines,” “peace-technologies that work by tickling people,” “backpacks of the future with ice cream makers,” and “time-travel-mobile-phones that when you call someone it takes you back in time.” The question is how can these child-like imagined technologies lead us to real answers for the future?

In my talk I will propose that “data mining” is not enough, that “mining the imagination” is critical to understanding the future. I will describe the “iChild” and the interactive, independent, international, imaginative child we need to consider designing for in the future. If we look for real change, we need to listen to children, not because they know more, but because they can help us question, explore, and push us in true directions for change."

Allison Druin is an Associate Dean for Research in the iSchool at the University of Maryland and is Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. For almost 14 years, she has led an intergenerational research team, where children, ages 7-11 years old partner with an interdisciplinary group of adult researchers to develop new technologies for children. With this team, she has helped to developed new digital library and storytelling tools with such partners as the U.S. National Park Service, Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Nokia, UNICEF, and many others. In 2010, she received with Ben Bederson the SIGCHI Social Impact Award for her work leading the International Children’s Digital Library (www.childrenslibrary.org).
4:45pm - 5:00pm Closing Remarks (All)
7:00pm Optional Workshop Dinner

RELATED CHILD-COMPUTER INTERACTION SESSIONS AT CHI 2011
CHI 2011 will be offering a variety of opportunities for people interested in interaction design and technologies for children. Detailed information regarding the researchers/ presenters can be found on the IDC-SIG News/Events page.

CHI2011 COURSE - Evaluating Children's Interactive Technology
Monday 9th May 2011 - 16:00
Janet C Read - University of Central Lancashire
Panos Markopoulos - Technical University of Eindhoven
CHI2011 COURSE - New Methods for Designing for and with the iChild: Strategies for Today’s Mobile, Social, and Internet Technologies
Thursday 12th May 2011 - 09:00
Allison Druin - University of Maryland
Jerry Fails - Montclair State University
Mona Leigh Gubler - University of Maryland
CHI2011 Paper Session - Engaging Youth Thursday 12th May 2011 - 11:00
Exploratory Evaluations of a Computer Game Supporting Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Adolescents
In the Mood: Engaging Teenagers in Psychotherapy Using Mobile Phones
Breaking Boundaries: Strategies for Mentoring through Textile Computing Workshops
Brick by Brick: Iterating Interventions to Bridge the Achievement Gap with Virtual Peers
CHI2011 - Other IDC Related Papers
Paper Session: Art, Music and Movement: Monday 9th May 2011
MOGCLASS: Evaluation of a Collaborative System of Mobile Devices for Classroom Music Education of Young Children
MoBoogie: Creative Expression Through Whole Body Musical Interaction
Paper Session: Low-cost ICT4D Tuesday 10th May 2011
Utilizing Multimedia Capabilities of Mobile Phones to Support Teaching in Schools in Rural Panama
Infrastructures for low-cost laptop use in Mexican schools
Paper Session: Storytelling and Perceptual Crossing Wednesday 11th May 2011
ShadowStory: Creative and Collaborative Digital Storytelling Inspired by Cultural Heritage
Paper Session: Learning
Practical, Appropriate, Empirically-Validated Guidelines for Designing Educational Games

CHI2011 Paper Session - Families Tuesday 10th May 2011 - 11:00

Learning Patterns of Pick-ups and Drop-offs to Support Busy Family Coordination

Mediated Parent-Child Contact in Work-Separated Families

Hello, is Grandma there? Let’s Read! StoryVisit: Family Video Chat and Connected E-Books

Family Portals: Connecting Families Through A Multifamily Media Space

If these topics interest you, consider making plans to attend IDC 2011!
IDC 2011: The 10th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
June 19-23, University of Michigan (My alma mater!)

Mar 29, 2011

Program- CHI 2011 Child Computer Interaction: 2nd Workshop on UI Technologies and Educational Pedagogy

CHILD COMPUTER INTERACTION: 2ND WORKSHOP ON UI TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL PEDAGOGY

May 7, 2011

In conjunction with CHI 2011, Vancouver, Canada

PROGRAM (Draft)

9:00am – 09:05am Introduction

9:05am - 10:05am Paper Session I (8min presentation, 4min Discussion)

Evaluating Pervasive Classrooms

• Son Do-Lenh et al.: Classroom-experience evaluation: An ecological approach to evaluating pervasive technologies in classroom
• Kathryn Rounding et al.: Evaluating Interfaces with Children
• Dan Morris et al.: Using Machine Learning to Scaffold Artistic Creativity in Education
• Tamara Polajnar et al.: Enabling Picture-based Querying and Learning with the JuSe Interface
• Hamed Alavi et al.: Lantern 2.0: A Pervasive Scripting Tool

10:05am - 11:00am Coffee Break and Preparation time for short talks

11:00am - 12:10pmPaper Session II (8min presentation, 4min Discussion)

Collaboration in Math: Fears, Myths, and Insights

• Nicola Yull et al.: Pass the iPad: Comparing collaboration on paper and screen
• Veronika Irvine et al.: Math Education: A Creative Approach

• Group talk: Math and Embodied Agents
a. Kristina Richter et al.: Bridging Diagnosis and Learning for Mathematics Education in Classroom Setting
b. Lisa Anthony et al.: Handwriting Interaction for Math Tutors: Lessons for HCI in Education
c. Andrew Jensen et al.: Using Embodied Pedagogical Agents and Direct Instruction to Augment Learning for Young Children with Special Needs

• Group talk: Dispelling Myths About the Next Generation Classroom
a. Alex Thayer et al.: The Myth of the Paperless School: Replacing Printed Texts with E-readers
b. Sharon Oviatt: Designing Digital Tools for Thinking, Adaptive Learning and Cognitive Evolution
c. Alexandra Dunn et al.: Designing Classroom Technology to Meet the Needs of All

• Group talk: Games, Wearables and Fun Learning.
a. Christiane Moser et al.: Child-Centered Game Development
b. Lizbeth Escobedo et al.: Blue’s Clues: An Augmented Reality Positioning System
c. Si Jung Kim et al.: Wearable Story: A Story Telling Jacket for Young Children to Improve Their Independent Physical and Learning Activities

12:10pm - 1:30pm Lunch

1:30pm - 2:30pm Paper Session (10 min presentation, 5min Discussion)

Tangibles and Tabletops
• Izdihar Jamil et al.: Communication Patterns in Collaborative Peer Learning around Interactive Table
• Aura Pon et al.: Graspable Music and Vuzik: Music Learning and Creativity using an Interactive Surface
• Ahmed Kharrufa et al.: Learning at interactive surfaces and designing for reflection
• Cristina Sylla et al.: TOK – a Tangible Interface for Storytelling

• Group talk: Tables and Tangibles
• a.Robert Sheehan: Constructionism, Programming and Touch Interfaces
• b. Orit Shaer et al.: Making the Invisible Tangible: Learning Biological Engineering in Kindergarten
• c. Sebastien Kubicki: Evaluation of an interactive table with tangible objects: Application with children in a classroom
• d. Cristina Emilia Costa et al.: I-Theatre: developing narratives skills in kindergarten children
• e. Wooi Boon Goh et al.: Potential Challenges in Collaborative Game Design for Inclusive Settings

2:30pm - 3:00pm Coffee Break

3:00pm - 4:00pm Breakout Discussion (What are future challenges? Next years workshop?)

4:00pm - 4:45pm Closing Keynote TBA

4:45pm - 5:00pm Closing Remarks

7:00pm Optional Workshop Dinner

RELATED
Workshop Website
ACM-CHI 2011 Conference Website

Feb 24, 2011

Today I hooked up a Wii to the IWB in the school's therapy room. Next - a Kinect?! (Angels are welcome to help us expand the school's "games" programs for students with special needs)

Today, I hooked up our school's Wii to the newly-installed IWB in the therapy room for the first time, and used it during a session for for a social-skills activity with two students who have autism spectrum disorders. The students helped each other to create their own "Mii" avatars. I had them play the bowling game, and was impressed how this activity elicited social conversation between the students, with minimal effort on my part.

Most of students in the program at Wolfe are in grades 6-12. They have cognitive, language, and motor delays. A good number of the students also have autism spectrum disorders. Some have multiple special needs.

We have found that when our students are provided with interactive activities displayed on the large screen of an IWB, they tend to increase their level of attention to their peers and also communicate more with one-another, as well as with the teachers and staff.

By using an IWB for games at school, we are extending the reach of how this technology can be used with students who have more complex special needs. By providing a means for our students to learn to play positive games, we help them develop important physical, social, and leisure skills that they can use outside the school setting with non-disabled peers and siblings. My hunch is that the games will also help promote cognitive/problem solving skills, too.

NOTE:
The funds to purchase the Wii were donated to our school, but did not cover additional games or accessories. We'd like to purchase Rock Band and Wii Fit. We'd also like to expand our program and purchase an Xbox with a Kinect. An iPad or two would be OK, too : )

If there are any angels out there who'd like to donate funds for our "games" program at Wolfe, please contact me through my Google profile. I will connect you with the appropriate person.

Game designer/developers/researchers/students:
If you are interested in volunteering your efforts to work on a basic cooperative, pro-social game for the Kinect, SMARTTable, or interactive whiteboard, please contact me.

Nov 16, 2010

Serious Games in the K-16 Classroom: Google Tech Talks Video, via Jonathan Brill

In the following video, Victoria Van Voorhis discusses educational software and the Serious Games in Education movement:

Thanks to Jonathan Brill for the link!

SOMEWHAT RELATED
Below is a presentation I gave at the 2008 Games for Health conference:

Descriptions, stories, and links related to the screen shots of the first slide of the above presentation: (Some of the links may need to be updated.)

The science screen is an interactive 'gizmo' from Explore Learning. Something like this could be incorporated into an educational game. http://www.explorelearning.com

I’m pretty sure that the picture of the ancient building was from the VAST project, described in the article 'Reviving the past: Cultural Heritage meets Virtual Reality' by Anthanasios Gaitatzes, Dimitrious Cristopoulos, and Maria Roussou. (2002, ACM) The Foundation of the Hellenic World was involved with this project. http://www.fhw.gr/fhw/

Maria Roussou has been involved with a variety of interesting immersive projects: http://www.makebelieve.gr/mb/www/profile/index.html

The people from the Institute for Advanced Technologies in the Humanities at the University of Virginia are doing similar work through the Rome Reborn project:
http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/

Note: I thought that it would be cool to have a game for health that integrated with history, so that students could learn about how people from the past handled health and diseases, and learn how scientists from the past came up with solutions that help us today.

The picture of the dragons on the space station was from a game called 'Relax to Win', created by Phil (gary?) McDarby and the MindGames team when he was at MediaLab Europe, which disbanded in 2005. Here is an article about Relax to Win, from 2002:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1972571.stm
McDarby now works as the creative officer of Vyro Games, which focus on stress management.
Rationale: Stress management games are good for health!
McDarby: http://www.vyro-games.com/company/phil_bio.php
Media Lab Europe and MindGames: http://medialabeurope.org/
Vyro Games: http://ww.vyro-games.com/

The cool geometric image was from a project from the Interactive Media Group, Vienna University of Technology: Educating Spatial Intelligence with Augmented Reality http://www.ims.tuwien.ac.at/research/spatial_abilities/
The project targeted high school geometry students, with a goal of increasing spatial ability and improving transfer of learning. The program is consistent with Universal Design for Learning principles.
I think that some of the applications involved in this application could be useful in games designed for cognitive rehabilitation or habilitation. Related to this project: 'An Application and Framework for Using Augmented Reality in Mathematics and Geometry Education': http://www.ims.tuwien.ac.at/research/construct3d/ and Hannes Kaufmann’s Dissertation: Geometry Education with Augmented Reality: http://www.ims.tuwien.ac.at/media/documents/publications/...

The remainder of the pictures:
The Cloud Game: http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/

The picture with the two people is from Kar2ouche, from Immersive Education. Kar2ouche is a creative role-play, picture making, story-boarding and animation software. It is enabled for use on interactive whiteboards: http://www.immersiveeducation.com/kar2ouche/

Hazmat HotZone is a multi-player simulation game used to train first responder teams: http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/hazmat_2005/

The underwater scene is from FreeDive, from FreeDive, that is used as a pain distractor. I also think it could be used for stress reduction for children.
http://www.breakawaygames.com/serious-games/solutions/hea...
The game pad is a DanceDance Revolution pad, used as an 'exergame' in many schools to combat the increase in numbers of students who are overweight or obese.

'Dance Dance Revolution: Healthy for Kids'
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/12201/

The classroom scene is is from a virtual reality application:
Rizzo, A., Bowerly, T., Buckwalter, J., Klimchuk, D., Mitura, R., Parsons, T.D. (2006). A Virtual Reality Scenario for All Seasons: The Virtual Classroom. CNS Spectrums, 11, 1, 35-44. http://vrpsych.ict.usc.edu/