Interaction Design lectureship
The link between Growthmoves and the student project is the Interaction Design lectureship, which is affiliated to the consortium. The professorship conducts research at Fontys University of Applied Sciences ICT, specifically in the area of human-technology interactions. Projects are often carried out by or with students, as in this case. They are therefore directly involved in knowledge development and research.
Exergames
What Leon, Teun and Jesper are specifically concerned with is the development of exergames. These are games in which physical movement is central. By adding an educational component in this case, they become 'intelligent exergames'. The idea is that students learn while moving, which stimulates and challenges them. Two birds with one stone.
Two projects, one goal
The students were originally working on two projects. Leon and Teun worked on games with a Wii balance board, and Jesper investigated the possibilities of a SmartWall (a technology of Fontys ICT InnovationLab partner company Embedded Fitness). Gradually, the students discovered that the basic method for their exergames was the same and they joined forces.
The result is a system for exergames that can be used on just about any device (including the Smart Wall and the Wii Balance Board). They tell us more about it in the video.