Serious Game no tratamento de obesidade infantil: uma proposta de interação natural com monitoramento remoto

The number of overweight people has increased in the last few years. Factors such as attention to diet and changes in lifestyle are crucial in the prevention and control of obesity and diseases related to it. Experts believe that such actions are most effective when initiated during childhood, and that children raised in an environment that encourages physical activity ultimately become healthier adults. However, to arouse and maintain interest in such activities represent a major challenge, which are initially perceived as repetitive and boring, and, thus, soon abandoned. Computer games, traditionally seen as stimulants to a sedentary lifestyle are changing this perception using non-conventional controls that require constant movement of the player. Applications that combine the playfulness of such games to physical activity through devices, like Microsoft Kinect, might become interesting tools in this scenario, by using the familiarity of Natural User Interfaces along with the challenge and the fun of video games, in order to make attractive exercise routines for schoolchildren. The project carried out consists of an exergame composed of several activities designed and implemented with the participation of a Physical Educator, aimed at children between eight and ten years old, whose performance and progress can be remotely monitored by a professional via web interface. The application arising from this work was accompanied by tests with a group of graduating Physical Education students from the University of Rio Verde GO, and subsequently validated through questionnaires whose results are shown on this work.

A descoberta do elétron como tema gerador de um ensino de física mediado por experimentação remota

In this work, we have proposed and applied a methodology for teaching electromagnetism, based on an experimental activity and designed in an investigative teaching model, and containing a high degree of dialogism among teachers and students. We have used the discovery of the electron as a generator theme and a remote experiment to determine the charge-to-mass ratio of the electron as an educational resource. Our analyses indicate favorably towards the promotion of ways of appropriation of knowledge by the student, very different from those perceived in traditional expositive classes. Similarly, we find that the presence of a technological resource and an experimental activity create new posture of the teacher in the classroom, probably caused by the unpredictability of the results from the use of such resources. A challenge that we still need to solve is how to engage students in extra classroom tasks, since learning is not only effective in time for classes. We also present the weaknesses detected in our methodological proposal as well as implementations necessary in order to continue the validation process of this methodology.