Active video games - An opportunity for enhanced learning and positive health effects?

Active video games are an emerging genre of electronic games that provide engaging exercise experiences by combining physical exertion with interactive game play. As such they have attracted increased interest from health promotion professionals to reduce sedentary behavior, increase physical activity, and improve health outcomes such as body composition. However their potential for enhancing the educational experience has not been extensively explored. This paper provides a brief overview of active video game research to date and outlines opportunities for future research. Specifically, we highlight the need to develop a conceptual framework to better understand the determinants, mediators, moderators, and consequences of active video gaming and integrate learning and health outcomes. Wepropose that active video games can be a key part of a wider “digital” supportive environment where education and health researchers and professionals work with, rather than against, video game technologies to promote learning and health.

Couch potatoes to jumping beans: a pilot study of the effect of active video games on physical activity in children

The primary objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of active video games on children's physical activity levels.Twenty children (mean +/- SD age = 12 +/- 1.5 years; 40% female) were randomised to receive either an active video game upgrade package or to a control group (no intervention). Effects on physical activity over the 12-week intervention period were measured using objective (Actigraph accelerometer) and subjective (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children [PAQ-C]) measures. An activity log was used to estimate time spent playing active and non-active video games.Children in the intervention group spent less mean time over the total 12-week intervention period playing all video games compared to those in the control group (54 versus 98 minutes/day [difference = -44 minutes/day, 95% CI [-92, 2]], p = 0.06). Average time spent in all physical activities measured with an accelerometer was higher in the active video game intervention group compared to the control group (difference at 6 weeks = 194 counts/min, p = 0.04, and at 12 weeks = 48 counts/min, p = 0.06).This preliminary study suggests that playing active video games on a regular basis may have positive effects on children's overall physical activity levels. Further research is needed to confirm if playing these games over a longer period of time could also have positive effects on children's body weight and body mass index.

Active video games for improving physical performance measures in older people: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Participation in regular physical activity is associated with better physical function in older people (>65 years); however, older people are the least active of all age groups. Exercise-based active video games (AVGs) offer an alternative to traditional exercise programs aimed at maintaining or enhancing physical performance measures in older people. This review systematically evaluated whether AVGs could improve measures of physical performance in older people. Secondary measures of safety, game appeal, and usability were also considered. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials published up to April 2015. Included were trials with 2 or more arms that evaluated the effect of AVGs on outcome measures of physical performance in older people. RESULTS: Eighteen randomized controlled trials (n = 765) were included. Most trials limited inclusion to healthy community-dwelling older people. With the exception of 1 trial, all AVG programs were supervised. Using meta-analyses, AVGs were found to be more effective than conventional exercise (mean difference [MD], 4.33; 95% confidence intervals [CIs], 2.93-5.73) or no intervention (MD, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.17-1.29) for improving Berg Balance scores in community-dwelling older people. Active video games were also more effective than control for improving 30-second sit-to-stand scores (MD, 3.99; 95% CI, 1.92-6.05). No significant differences in Timed Up and Go scores were found when AVGs were compared with no intervention or with conventional exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Active video games can improve measures of mobility and balance in older people when used either on their own or as part of an exercise program. It is not yet clear whether AVGs are equally suitable for older people with significant cognitive impairments or balance or mobility limitations. Given the positive findings to date, consideration could be given to further development of age-appropriate AVGs for use by older people with balance or mobility limitations.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially.

Recent trends in research literature on game-based approaches to teaching and coaching games

As suggested by Curry and Light in chapter nine, the expanding output of research on games-based approaches (GBAs) over the past decade has not been reflected in expanding utilisation of GBAs in school-based physical education programmes and club-based sport coaching environments. Reasons for this lack of ‘uptake’ are varied and range from a lack of exposure to effective GBA professional development opportunities to the prolonged acceptance of a performative culture often embedded within physical education and youth sport programmes (Harvey and Jarrett, 2012; Dismore and Bailey, 2010). The literature on games teaching published since Oslin and Mitchell’s review of GBAs in 2006 continues to acknowledge the many benefits of using GBAs, but also acknowledges, and to a lesser extent addresses, the key challenges associated with the employment of learner-centred and GBA pedagogies. This chapter provides an overview of post-2005 research trends in the GBA literature to identify and discuss the prominent themes that arose from this meta-analysis.

Optimising technical skills and physical loading in small-sided basketball games

Differences in physiological, physical, and technical demands of small-sided basketball games related to the number of players, court size, and work-to-rest ratios are not well characterised. A controlled trial was conducted to compare the influence of number of players (2v2/4v4), court size (half/full court) and work-to-rest ratios (4x2.5 min/2x5 min) on the demands of small-sided games. Sixteen elite male and female junior players (aged 15-19 years) completed eight variations of a small-sided game in randomised order over a six-week period. Heart rate responses and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured to assess the physiological load. Movement patterns and technical elements were assessed by video analysis. There were ∼60% more technical elements in 2v2 and ∼20% more in half court games. Heart rate (86 ± 4% & 83 ± 5% of maximum; mean ± SD) and RPE (8 ± 2 & 6 ± 2; scale 1-10) were moderately higher in 2v2 than 4v4 small-sided games, respectively. The 2v2 format elicited substantially more sprints (36 ±12%; mean ±90% confidence limits) and high intensity shuffling (75 ±17%) than 4v4. Full court games required substantially more jogging (9 ±6%) compared to half court games. Fewer players in small-sided basketball games substantially increases the technical, physiological and physical demands.

Explanations for the United States of America's dominance in basketball at the Beijing Olympic Games (2008)

Anecdotally, the fast pace at which the USA men's basketball team played at the 2008 Olympics was the main reason for their dominance, although there is no way of quantifying what a fast pace is or how it contributed to point differentials. The aim of this study was to examine the game-related statistics that discriminate between fast- and slow-paced games, as well as to identify key performance factors relating to point differentials. We analysed game-related statistics for each quarter of the eight games played by the USA using a k-means cluster analysis to classify game pace using ball possessions per game quarter. We then tested for differences in game statistics between slow- and fast-paced game quarters using analysis of variance and discriminant analysis. How differences in game-related statistics affected point differentials was examined using linear regression. The largest structure coefficient between game paces for the USA was for recovered balls (0.33, < 0.001). The biggest contributors to the point differences in games were recovered balls (16.9, P < 0.001) and field goals (22.2, P < 0.001). We conclude that when the USA play a fast-paced game, they are able to recover more balls from opponents that they then turn into effective field-goal shooting.

Diabetic Mario: designing and evaluating mobile games for diabetes education

Traditionally, diabetes education has relied on written materials, with limited resources available for children with diabetes. Mobile games can be effective and motivating tools for the promotion of children's health. In our earlier work, we proposed a novel approach for designing computer games aimed at educating children with diabetes. In this article, we apply our game design to a mobile Android game (Mario Brothers). We also introduce four heuristics that are specifically designed for evaluating the mobile game, by adapting traditional usability heuristics. Results of a pilot study (n = 12) to evaluate gameplay over 1-week showed that the children found the game engaging and improved their knowledge of healthy diet and lifestyle.

Games as text, games as action: video games in the english classroom

Contemporary views of literacy, and of English and Language Arts curriculum recognise the importance of digital culture and communication forms in many young people's lives and the multiple forms of literacy students engage with as they work, interact and play. Amongst these, videogames, whether played on PCs, laptops, wiis, or on mobile devices of various kinds stand out as highly popular, engaging and sophisticated emergent cultural forms. Drawing on research in Australian secondary schools over a number of years, this paper describes approaches to working with games in the English classroom, and presents a model for critical games literacy which entails thinking of games as both text and action. It describes the ways in which the model might be used for planning and teaching with and about games, stressing the active nature of games and play, and calling on understandings of literacy as design.

Innovation practice using pervasive mobile technology solutions to improve population health management: a pilot study of gestational diabetes patient care in Australia

Healthcare service delivery is moving forward from individual care to population health management, because of the fast growth of health records. However, to improve population health performance, it is necessary to leverage relevant data and information using new technology solutions, such as pervasive diabetes mobile technology solution of Inet International Inc., which offers the potential to facilitate patient empowerment with gestational diabetic care. Hence, this article examines the pilot study outcomes of a small clinical trial focusing on pregnant patients affected by gestational diabetes mellitus, in an Australian not for profit healthcare context. The aims include establishing proof of concept and also assessing the usability, acceptability, and functionality of this mobile solution and thereby generate hypotheses to be tested in a large-scale confirmatory clinical trial.

‘Computer games can get your brain working’: student experience and perceptions of digital games in the classroom

There is considerable enthusiasm in many quarters for the incorporation of digital games into the classroom, and the capacity of games to engage and challenge players, present complex representations and experiences, foster collaborative learning, and promote deep learning. But while there is increasing research documenting the progress and outcomes of game-based learning, relatively little attention is paid to student perceptions and voice. In order to effectively target game-based learning pedagogy, it is important to understand students' previous experience, if any, of the use of games in the classroom, and what they made of these. In this paper, we present findings from a survey of 270 primary and secondary school students in Year Levels 4–9 (aged 9–14) in 6 Queensland schools at the start of a 3-year Australian Research Council project researching the use of digital games in school to promote literacy and learning.

Playing with the history of Middle-Earth: board games, transmedia storytelling, and The Lord of the Rings

Contemporary cases of transmedia storytelling have thrown many conventional understandings of ‘adaptation’ into disarray. The resurgence of tabletop game culture has thus far played a significant role in this, though scholars have largely neglected the subject, particularly in terms of how transmedia relationships reconfigure the meaning(s) shaped by and through games by players. This paper addresses this phenomenon through a close analysis of two board games based on The Lord of the Rings, in which the (re)construction of the story-world of the source text(s) impacts strongly on ‘conventional’ modes of narrative and identification. Governed by the adoption of various mechanics and innovative uses of the ‘competitive-cooperative’ spectrum, such transformations frequently have significant implications for how narrative meanings might be generated through play.

Playing with other(ed) species: games, representation, and nonhuman animals

During the writing of this essay, the controversial nonhuman animal rights organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent out a tweet linking to an online article about the recent PC and Playstation 4 console game No Man’s Sky, in which players are positioned as explorers of countless virtual planets. Encountering the wide array of creatures indigenous to these worlds, players of this game are offered the choice of whether ‘to document them and name them or slaughter them en masse’ (Francisco, ‘PETA’). While an environmental agenda appears to be far from the game designers’ minds, PETA’s Marketing Vice President Joel Bartlett interprets No Man’s Sky as ‘counting on our natural empathy … we have a natural sense of exploration that has been important to human history’ (Francisco, ‘PETA’). Indeed, PETA has immersed itself in the gaming industry by creating its own simple online games in-house, such as the provocative Mario Kills Tanooki, which opposes what it sees as the unethical messages conveyed by Nintendo’s popular Super Mario Bros. franchise. These instances of the intersection of exploration, ethics, empathy, and play raise important questions regarding the potential role(s) of gaming in furthering (or hindering) the welfare of nonhuman animals. This issue becomes more and more urgent not only in a time of ongoing climate change, environmental degradation, and the continued endangerment of countless species around the planet, but also in a time when the gaming industry and the adoption of game design principles in many others grows apace.