Ayelet Gal-Oz

Deconstructing gamification: evaluating the effectiveness of continuous measurement, virtual rewards, and social comparison for promoting physical activity

Game design elements are often implemented in persuasive systems aimed to promote physical activity, a process called “gamification.” Gamification is believed to motivate users to become more active, and is commonly implemented in commercial products. However, relatively few studies rigorously evaluated the effectiveness of gamification, and they yielded contradicting findings. We set out to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual rewards and social comparison—two game elements prevalent in persuasive systems. We developed a research prototype, called “StepByStep,” aimed to promote routine walking. We created different versions of StepByStep, implemented as an application on Android-based mobile devices, and compared their effectiveness in two field studies. Study 1 showed that a quantified version of the application—offering continuous measurement of walking time, a daily goal, and real-time feedback on progress toward this goal—facilitated reflection on activity and significantly increased walking time over baseline level. Study 2 showed that gamified versions offering virtual rewards and social comparison were only as effective as the quantified version. Thus, we advise designers to facilitate reflection on meaningful aspects of physical activity by developing novel ubiquitous measures. Furthermore, our findings highlight the importance of systematic comparisons between quantified and gamified elements for better understanding their motivational affordances.

TangiPlan: designing an assistive technology to enhance executive functioning among children with adhd

Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience a deficit in cognitive processes responsible for purposeful goaldirected behaviors, known as executive functioning (EF). In an effort to improve EF, we are developing TangiPlan a set of tangible connected objects that represent tasks children perform during their morning routine. We describe the initial stages of a usercentered design process, consisting of interviews with both domain experts and potential users, followed by paper prototyping. Based on our findings, we formulated preliminary design principles for EF assistive technology: facilitate organization, time management and planning; involve caregivers in the process, but strive to reduce conflict; implement intervention techniques suggested by experts; avoid distraction by mobile phones; avoid intrusion. We discuss the benefits of implementing these principles with a tangible interface, present our prototype design, and describe future directions.

In-car game design for children: child vs. parent perspective

Family car rides can become a source of boredom for child passengers, and consequently cause tension inside the car. In an attempt to overcome this problem, we developed Mileys -- a novel in-car game that integrates location-based information, augmented reality and virtual characters. It is aimed to make car rides more interesting for child passengers, strengthen the bond between family members, encourage safe and ecological driving, and connect children with their environment instead of their entertainment devices. We evaluated Mileys with a six-week long field study, which revealed differences between children and parents regarding their desired in-car experience. Children wish to play enjoyable games, whereas parents view car rides as an opportunity for strengthening the bond between family members and for educating their children. Based on our findings, we identify five key challenges for in-car game design for children: different expectations by parents and children, undesired detachment, short interaction span, poor GPS reception, and motion sickness.

ExciteTray: developing an assistive technology to promote selffeeding among young children

Typically developing children usually master selffeeding by the age of three years. However, children with Cerebral Palsy and other developmental disabilities encounter great difficulties acquiring this instrumental ability. In an effort to motivate young eaters in the process of acquiring selffeeding abilities, we set out to develop ExciteTray a customized selffeeding assistive technology. We describe the initial stages of an iterative design process consisting of interviews with domain experts, rapidprototyping, and evaluations with children. Based on our findings, we formulated preliminary design principles for a selffeeding assistive technology: draw attention without causing distraction; motivate the child during the various stages of selffeeding; facilitate facetoface interaction between caregiver and child; adapt feedback to the cognitive and motor ability of each child. We explain how these principles were implemented in a prototype, discuss safety considerations and describe future work.

Initial validation of an assistive technology to enhance executive functioning among children with ADHD

Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience a deficit in cognitive processes responsible for goal-directed behaviors, known as executive functioning (EF). In an effort to assist them, we developed TangiPlan -- a prototype of a tangible assistive technology intended to improve EF during morning routines. TangiPlan was designed based on the following guidelines: implement intervention techniques recommended by experts; reduce conflicts with caregivers; avoid intrusion; support flexibility and autonomy. These design guidelines were implemented in a prototype consisting of six tangible objects, each representing a task that needs to be completed during a childs morning routine, and a tablet application for planning tasks and matching them with objects. An initial evaluation of the prototype with two case studies resulted in improved organization and time management, increased satisfaction, and fewer conflicts with parents during morning routines.

Assisting Caregivers of Children with Cerebral Palsy: Towards a Self-Feeding Assessment Spoon

Many children with cerebral palsy (CP) encounter great difficulties mastering self-feeding. We set out to assess the self-feeding skills of young children with CP via a novel instrumented spoon that monitors upper extremity biomechanics involved in eating. We describe the initial stages of an iterative design process, consisting of a focus group with domain experts, and rapid-prototyping. We discuss the physical, assessment and safety requirements for the spoon. In addition, we explain the potential of tangible interfaces to provide professional caregivers with valuable information regarding each child.

Embracing Cheating in Gamified Fitness Applications

Gamification of fitness applications opens the door to cheating by exploiting inherent limitations of sensing, in order to advance in the game without performing the required physical activity. While this type of behavior is usually conceptualized negatively, we propose it could actually be beneficial for encouraging physical activity. We integrate prior work on cheating in online games with prior work on embracing non-normative behavior, and suggest design opportunities for embracing cheating in gamified fitness applications.