Call for papers for Interactive Technologies and Games ’11 – Education, Health and Disability

Interactive Technologies and Games: Education, Health and Disability 2011

Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham

25th and 26th October 2011

http://www.itag-ehd.com...

Call for papers

The aim of the conference is to bring together academics and practitioners working with interactive technologies to explore and innovate within the areas of Education, Health and Disability. We have a particular focus on the use of gaming hardware and software to implement accessible solutions, interaction design using new input/output devices and the increasing impact of ubiquitous computing on our everyday well being.

The conference provides an excellent opportunity to showcase practice and to mainstream research ideas and outcomes. It will introduce a wider audience to key findings and products from research and will illustrate how practice feeds back into and informs research. The conference will create a forum for two-way communication between the academic and practitioner communities and particularly welcomes user led presentations and workshops.

The programme will include presentations of papers, workshops, a doctoral consortium and an exhibition space for demonstrations and posters. This event is held in partnership with GameCity – the World’s best-loved videogame festival (http://gamecity.org/...) and delegates are welcome to attend all GameCity events including the opening drinks reception.

Scope:

Compulsory and post-compulsory education is included within ‘education’. Disability includes physical, sensory and cognitive impairment. The impact of interactive technologies and games on health and well-being is also a focus of this conference. An emphasis will be placed on practical applications and guides to where currently available training resources and tools can be found and used. A selection of papers will be published electronically in full, so presentations will be limited to 20 minutes for the key findings, including time for questions from the floor. It is hoped (as in previous years) that the best papers will be published in a special issue of a relevant academic journal. Previous special issues have included:

• Journal of Assistive Technologies - Volume 3 issue 2 June 2009 (ITAG 2008 selected papers)

• Computers and Education – Volume 56, issue 1 (ITAG 2009 selected papers)

• International Journal of Games Based Learning – in press (ITAG 2010 selected papers)

Themes and topics: The conference encourages papers from multidisciplines and examples of themes and topics could include (but don’t let this restrict you):

Gaming Based Learning:

• Social and collaborative aspects of games (e.g., educational aspects of Massively Multiplayer Online Games)

• The efficacy of games based learning

• Self authored content and personalisation in games

• Learning theory, pedagogy and instructional design in games

• Motivational aspects of games

Game related Technology:

• Using contemporary games controllers to create new opportunities in health and rehabilitation applications (e.g., applications for Wii Fit, Kinect).

• Navigation in virtual environments using games controllers for people with visual impairments (e.g., Phantom, Wii Remote)

• Brain control and interfaces to games

Games for Health:

• Serious games for clinical assessment (e.g. after stroke)

• Serious games for rehabilitation and treatment (e.g. of phobias, ADHA, post-traumatic stress disorders)

• ‘Modding’ for health

• Assistive technologies for people with disabilities and elderly people

• Art and music rehabilitation in 3D multisensory environments

• Motion tracking technologies in games for health

• Games for children in hospital

• Games to increase physical activity in children

Social and Collaborative Aspects:

• Collaboration between Science and Art for more effective learning

• Issues related to vulnerable groups

• Games to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities

• Formulating serious games for adult offenders

• Gamers’ Views on Taboos in MMORPGs

• Motivations of female gamers

• The impact of technology on the fusion of science and art

Accessibility and Design:

• Open source accessibility

• Participatory design

• Design for all.

Web based technologies:

• Interactive learning tools and environments resources, e.g. Flash, podcasts, simulations, mobile games, Web 2.0 tool etc.

• The Internet as a communication medium for people with Asperger Syndrome

Pervasive and Mobile Technologies:

• Pervasiveness and mobility of games

• Location based services

• Handheld learning in the classroom

Submissions

Those wishing to present papers or hold a workshop should send abstracts, to a maximum of 500 words. For those hoping to exhibit or produce a poster, a 300-word abstract is required. The deadline for submissions is Friday 17th June, 2011 to be sent to: karen.krelle@ntu.ac.uk

Final copies of accepted papers are required by Friday 30th September 2011.