Exertion Interfaces

Pushing Pixels

August 21, 2009 - Floyd/Jenn

Subtitle: Towards understanding the role of deign in facilitating the social discovery/acquisition/development of kinesthetic literacy through asynchronous exertion interactions.

1. Motivation: Kinesthetic literacy is an important aspect of being human, contributing to social, mental and physical health.

2. Problem: People’s decline in participating in physical activity à kinesthetic illiteracy?

3. Approach: a) using social motivational/guided discovery aspects to facilitate exertion movements; learning to move b) making visible kinesthetic for guided discovery for learning c) utilizing asynchronicity to facilitate critical reflection à guided discovery à kinesthetic literacy

4. Results:

5. Conclusion:

A. Theory: Social facilitation changes performance even when mediated/ asynchronous/ can be used for teaching?

B. Research Question: What is the role of design in supporting the development of kinesthetic literacy?

C. Contribution: Contributing to an understanding of shared/sharing whole-body interactions.

Design Decisions:

· Asynchronicity to facilitate reflection

· Restrict movement to support synchronicity à social

· (Connected: body synchronicity and temporal asynchronicity; social à kinesthetic literacy)

· Offering ancillary information to support guided discovery

· Lets user make their own decisions/discoveries

Table: Teacher à representation à verbal à student (student only; bodily actions)

Pixel: Teacher à Movement à student (both student and teacher: bodily actions; more guided, structured)

Facilitate witting = knowledge, transition through technology

Exertion making participation visible: turning unwitting bystanders to witting bystanders? Performance frame: exertion facilitates/ entices entering it