Gaming Horizons is a EU-funded project that explored the role of video games in culture, the economy and education. We engaged with more than 280 stakeholders through interviews, workshops and webinars.
LINK
Introduction: Many adults do not reach the recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines, which can lead to serious health problems. A promising method to increase PA is the use of smartphone PA applications. However, despite the development and evaluation of multiple PA apps, it remains unclear how to develop and design engaging and effective PA apps. Furthermore, little is known on ways to harness the potential of artificial intelligence for developing personalized apps. In this paper, we describe the design and development of the Playful data-driven Active Urban Living (PAUL): a personalized PA application.Methods: The two-phased development process of the PAUL apps rests on principles from the behavior change model; the Integrate, Design, Assess, and Share (IDEAS) framework; and the behavioral intervention technology (BIT) model. During the first phase, we explored whether location-specific information on performing PA in the built environment is an enhancement to a PA app. During the second phase, the other modules of the app were developed. To this end, we first build the theoretical foundation for the PAUL intervention by performing a literature study. Next, a focus group study was performed to translate the theoretical foundations and the needs and wishes in a set of user requirements. Since the participants indicated the need for reminders at a for-them-relevant moment, we developed a self-learning module for the timing of the reminders. To initialize this module, a data-mining study was performed with historical running data to determine good situations for running.Results: The results of these studies informed the design of a personalized mobile health (mHealth) application for running, walking, and performing strength exercises. The app is implemented as a set of modules based on the persuasive strategies “monitoring of behavior,” “feedback,” “goal setting,” “reminders,” “rewards,” and “providing instruction.” An architecture was set up consisting of a smartphone app for the user, a back-end server for storage and adaptivity, and a research portal to provide access to the research team.Conclusions: The interdisciplinary research encompassing psychology, human movement sciences, computer science, and artificial intelligence has led to a theoretically and empirically driven leisure time PA application. In the current phase, the feasibility of the PAUL app is being assessed.
In this study, a data feedback program to improve teachers’ science and technology (S&T) teaching skills was designed and tested. The aim was to understand whether and how the four design principles underlying this program stimulated the intended teacher support. We examined how teachers in different phases of their career applied and experienced the employed design principles’ key aspects. Eight in-service teachers and eight pre-service teachers attended the data feedback program and kept a logbook in the meantime. Group interviews were held afterwards. Findings show that applying the four employed design principles’ key aspects did support and stimulate in- and pre-service teachers in carrying out data feedback for improving their S&T teaching. However, some key aspects were not applied and/or experienced as intended by all attending teachers. The findings provide possible implications for the development and implementation of professional development programs to support in - and pre-service teachers’ S&T teaching using data feedback.
