Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Do2Learn
From this same site there are games as well as research.
A game on how to relate to emotions was commented on my a mother who used it. After reading her review I now know I really want to make a game to help with a disability as it would be a rewarding and worthwhile design.
Other ideas could be to make safety games. To teach children how to act in different scenarios. With consoles like the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox Kinetic the possibilities are endless.
A game on how to relate to emotions was commented on my a mother who used it. After reading her review I now know I really want to make a game to help with a disability as it would be a rewarding and worthwhile design.
Other ideas could be to make safety games. To teach children how to act in different scenarios. With consoles like the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox Kinetic the possibilities are endless.
VR for Autism
http://www.do2learn.com/aboutus/research/briefreport.htm
Why Consider VR for Autism?
Several aspects of autism suggest that virtual reality might be helpful with this population:
Sensory Problems. Many children with autism have difficulty with multiple sources of sensory input (Grandin & Acariano, 1996). Stimulation in certain settings can be overpowering, causing difficulties and behavior deterioration. VR isolates specific stimuli from the environment and allows subjects to control how much they will experience. Complex stimulus arrays can be simplified.
Lack of Generalization. Difficulty generalizing behaviors learned in a single setting to similar appropriate situations has frustrated treatment efforts in autism. What is taught in one situation does not necessarily occur naturally in related appropriate situations. VR makes generalization easier because of the realism that it brings to treatment situations.
Visual Thought Patterns . Many have observed that thinking in people with autism is primarily visual (Grandin, 1992; Schopler, 1987). Intervention techniques have been successful when they capitalize on these visual strengths (Mesibov, Schopler, & Hearsey, 1994). VR, emphasizing visual skills, seems to be an appropriate modality for people with autism and should give them an excellent opportunity for learning new concepts and behaviors.
Individualized Treatment. Although there are general characteristics that all people with autism share, effective approaches must individualize their techniques to meet the needs of individual clients (Schopler, Mesibov, & Hearsey, 1995). Computerized instruction using VR allows for constant readjustments, based on the needs and skills of individual clients. Learning imagery can be readjusted to compensate for individual styles and changing patterns.
Responsiveness with Computer Technology. Although computers have not been adapted by special education programs as quickly as some would like, there is increasing evidence that they represent an effective new approach to education and learning for children with developmental disabilities (Howard, Buch, Watson, & Shade, 1991). Given the characteristics of autism and the encouraging preliminary data, it appears reasonable to expand the use of computerized instruction for individuals with autism and VR is a promising avenue for this extension.
And the summary given from this brief report
The children complied with most requests. Some of our teaching goals were limited by technology or space, while others were limited by the difficulty of presenting a task to the children in a way that was understandable within their environment. However, the opportunity to introduce this technology to children was an important first step in exploring the potential VR offers to understanding the perceptual processes involved in autism.
Our results indicate that the children will accept a VR helmet and wear it, identify familiar objects in their environment while using the helmet, and locate and move toward objects in their environment while wearing the helmet.
More research is necessary to verify the potential in this area, especially to discover if learning experiences through VR generalize to other environments, but it appears virtual reality may provide a useful tool for furthering our understanding of autism and guiding efforts at treatment and intervention.
Why Consider VR for Autism?
Several aspects of autism suggest that virtual reality might be helpful with this population:
Sensory Problems. Many children with autism have difficulty with multiple sources of sensory input (Grandin & Acariano, 1996). Stimulation in certain settings can be overpowering, causing difficulties and behavior deterioration. VR isolates specific stimuli from the environment and allows subjects to control how much they will experience. Complex stimulus arrays can be simplified.
Lack of Generalization. Difficulty generalizing behaviors learned in a single setting to similar appropriate situations has frustrated treatment efforts in autism. What is taught in one situation does not necessarily occur naturally in related appropriate situations. VR makes generalization easier because of the realism that it brings to treatment situations.
Visual Thought Patterns . Many have observed that thinking in people with autism is primarily visual (Grandin, 1992; Schopler, 1987). Intervention techniques have been successful when they capitalize on these visual strengths (Mesibov, Schopler, & Hearsey, 1994). VR, emphasizing visual skills, seems to be an appropriate modality for people with autism and should give them an excellent opportunity for learning new concepts and behaviors.
Individualized Treatment. Although there are general characteristics that all people with autism share, effective approaches must individualize their techniques to meet the needs of individual clients (Schopler, Mesibov, & Hearsey, 1995). Computerized instruction using VR allows for constant readjustments, based on the needs and skills of individual clients. Learning imagery can be readjusted to compensate for individual styles and changing patterns.
Responsiveness with Computer Technology. Although computers have not been adapted by special education programs as quickly as some would like, there is increasing evidence that they represent an effective new approach to education and learning for children with developmental disabilities (Howard, Buch, Watson, & Shade, 1991). Given the characteristics of autism and the encouraging preliminary data, it appears reasonable to expand the use of computerized instruction for individuals with autism and VR is a promising avenue for this extension.
And the summary given from this brief report
The children complied with most requests. Some of our teaching goals were limited by technology or space, while others were limited by the difficulty of presenting a task to the children in a way that was understandable within their environment. However, the opportunity to introduce this technology to children was an important first step in exploring the potential VR offers to understanding the perceptual processes involved in autism.
Our results indicate that the children will accept a VR helmet and wear it, identify familiar objects in their environment while using the helmet, and locate and move toward objects in their environment while wearing the helmet.
More research is necessary to verify the potential in this area, especially to discover if learning experiences through VR generalize to other environments, but it appears virtual reality may provide a useful tool for furthering our understanding of autism and guiding efforts at treatment and intervention.
Other Target Users
I have already mentioned children and adults but what about teens and the elderly. Also there may also be a market in people with disabilities as it could create some form of aid in recovery.
The Nintendo DS Brain Training has already be described to help retain memory and give your brain a work out. Could there be games to help with other health issues.
Could online gaming help people with learning difficulties reach out to others and play with them in a virtual place where they don't feel judged or victimised. Or is it dangerous to encourage people to make friendships online?
An interesting site I found is below
http://www.do2learn.com/aboutus/research.htm
Research and Aims and Objectives
I believe a target audience is an important place to start with research. What users will I be designing for and what type of console will it be played on.
Children are now "Digitally Native" as it is believed we are in a digital age. For example my niece and nephew would be able to pick up any game console and have more of an idea how to play it than my mum or dad.
So is it wiser to create a game for children as it is a mass audience of would it be interesting to key into a more niche market.
Pecha Kucha - What is Expected
Project name
a brief project description
research goals, aims and objectives
expected sources of research (historical examples / state of the art examples / Inspirations/ moods and themes)
a production schedule.
I think coming up with a name will be difficult without a clear idea for this project so I am going to start with the research goals, aims and objectives.
a brief project description
research goals, aims and objectives
expected sources of research (historical examples / state of the art examples / Inspirations/ moods and themes)
a production schedule.
I think coming up with a name will be difficult without a clear idea for this project so I am going to start with the research goals, aims and objectives.
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