Sophie McKenzie

Active gaming as a mechanism to promote physical activity and fundamental movement skill in children.

Insufficient physical activity is a global health issue (1). Australian physical activity guidelines recommend children engage in 60 min or more of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day (2). In 2011–2012, only 19% of Australian children met these recommendations (3). Fundamental movement skills (FMS; e.g., run, jump, catch, kick, hop) are the building blocks of physical activity and underpin successful participation in sports games. FMS are not, however, naturally acquired (4). Less than 50% of Australian school aged children demonstrate competence of key FMS (5, 6) and trends across the last decade are no better (7).

Permadeath: A review of literature

This paper explores existing literature concerning permadeath - the permanent in-game death of a playable character. Research concerning the depiction of death in video games is extensive; however research on the underlying concept of death within the magic circle of a game is scarce. Furthermore, although controversial, permadeath more closely connects with the original death concept than general in-game death as it adopts finality, a key characteristic of death. This is significant when we consider successful video games which have delved into deeper philosophical ideas and the realm of art; a deeper exploration of death, and dying, is within the capabilities of the maturing game industry, and may pave the way for unique in-game (death) experiences. To gain a better understanding of the nature of permadeath this paper draws together existing literature, highlights the difficulty of defining permadeath and deaths meaning beyond penalty, identifies two approaches to permadeath, and suggests a holistic, interdisciplinary approach in future research.

Evaluating sensor placement and modality for activity recognition in active games

Active games augment physical activity with the immersive elements of computer games running on mobile devices to encourage healthy behaviours in players. Such games rely on automated human activity recognition systems to obtain meaningful input for gameplay. The nature, number and placement of the sensors used to measure game activities affects the quality of activity recognition and the resulting value that this has for game play. This study investigates the recognition performance impact of using parallel sensing strategies from multiple body locations, as well as multiple sensor modalities without data fusion. C4.5 decision trees are trained on both raw sensor data and extracted features and classification performance is evaluated with tenfold cross-validation and 80/20 training/test methods. It was found that recognition accuracy depends on location and sensor types. Best results are achieved at locations closer to the core of the body. Classifiers derived from other sensor data achieve comparable performance to triaxial accelerometers. This study suggests that exergame hardware would benefit from incorporating multiple sensor modalities into a single device.

Informing the career development of IT students by understanding their career aspirations and skill development action plans

Attending university can assist students to make informed and realistic choices regarding their career. However, career development is a complex process and there are discipline-specific aspects to consider. In Information Technology, no clear career developmental pathway is evident in the literature despite recent efforts by employers, educators, and professional societies to help students improve their career expectations and employability upon graduation. This study aims to understand better the career aspirations and expectations of tertiary Information Technology students, so that their beliefs and needs can be taken into consideration when supporting them in career development. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore the career aspirations of 306 students. The results demonstrated variability in students’ short-term aspirations and a lack of understanding regarding effective actions to achieve their career goals, highlighting issues with setting realistic expectations. Outcomes show that undergraduate Information Technology students may require assistance with negotiating career choice.

Using rubrics in IT: Experiences of assessment and feedback at Deakin University

This paper explores the use of analytical rubrics as a form of assessment and feedback in Information Technology (IT) Higher Education. Rubrics are a tool for assessment, however, they can also be used to provide a mapping of learning outcomes and graduate attributes within minimum standards to allow students to evidence their skills beyond the assignment criteria. This paper will discuss how rubrics are used in IT at Deakin and present, via a small case study, outcomes from the evaluation of two rubrics used. While the results are not broad, this study demonstrates that rubrics can be useful for students studying IT as they assist with students understanding the alignment of learning outcomes with assessment.

Understanding career aspirations of Information Technology students at Deakin University

Students need to develop informed and realistic career aspirations to gain the most from their university studies towards their initial career development. However developing their aspirations, goals, and expectations is a complex process. In Information Technology (IT) no clear career development framework is evident in the literature. We present a pilot study which investigates the career aspirations of novice students studying IT at an Australian University. Through a series of career activities their aspirations were explored with the aim of improving support for career development. Results indicate that students have no clear short- or long- term aspirations, yet believe that programming skills are key to achieve a career in IT.

Encouraging organized active game play in primary school children

A mobile video game designed to encourage physical activity in children in an organized outdoor setting is presented. Game elements of narrative based treasure hunt game: Pirate Adventure are designed by a team of IT and Health professionals to encourage primary school aged children to engage in physical activity. The mobile phone platform uses several sensor technologies; accelerometers, camera and Wi-Fi to integrate gameplay with the physical environment. Key game locations in the real world environment are tracked using 2-dimensional codes (QR codes) and activity is tracked using accelerometers. The design is evaluated during several organized play session. Telemetry collected demonstrates that the treasure hunt mechanic encourages players to be physically active during each game, and validates that player actions are consistent with the game design elements. QR code scanning is effective as a location tracking mechanism. Additional insight is provided into the issue of sensor suitability and mobile device reliability when used in games for this age group. The results of this study can inform other mobile active games for children.