Active Game-Based Solutions for the Treatment of Childhood Obesity

[EN]Obesity is one of the biggest health problems globally that, together with sedentarism, requires solutions that increase the enthusiasm towards physical activity. Therefore, this paper describes two solutions based on active games using the Kinect sensor and biometric sensors, designed for the outpatient treatment of childhood obesity. The solutions were applied in an intervention program based on active video games and motor games, developed with children in treatment for childhood obesity. An ad hoc questionnaire was used to assess the level of satisfaction, fun, learning, and behavior changes in the children of the experimental group that developed the intervention. The results showed a high index of satisfaction with the intervention program, as well as with the games developed. It is concluded that active video games and group games are highly motivating and can promote behavior change towards healthier life habits in children

Agile human centered methodologies to develop educational software

This paper presents a methodological proposal that is based on powerful current approaches to the software development process: agile methodologies (SCRUM, Lean UX), user-centered design (UCD) and user experience design (UXD). Specifically, we have adapted some of the characteristics of the agile methodologies, which have allowed us to produce useful prototypes that are focused on the users while receiving constant feedback from them. The main goal of the proposed methodology is to identify usability problems and UX factors in the early stages of educational software development. Furthermore, we have also applied and validated the proposal during the framework development of an educational software project for users with special educational needs. A specific case taking into account key usability issues to support students with special education needs (SEN) is presented. In conclusion, we state that the proposed methodology could be a good design process philosophy to follow in the development of software projects in general, and in educational projects in particular

Health Promotion for Childhood Obesity: An Approach Based on Self-Tracking of Data

[EN]At present, obesity and overweight are a global health epidemic. Traditional interventions for promoting healthy habits do not appear to be e ective. However, emerging technological solutions based on wearables and mobile devices can be useful in promoting healthy habits. These applications generate a considerable amount of tracked activity data. Consequently, our approach is based on the quantified-self model for recommending healthy activities. Gamification can also be used as a mechanism to enhance personalization, increasing user motivation. This paper describes the quantified-self model and its data sources, the activity recommender system, and the PROVITAO App user experience model. Furthermore, it presents the results of a gamified program applied for three years in children with obesity and the process of evaluating the quantified-self model with experts. Positive outcomes were obtained in children’s medical parameters and health habits

Effects of a Gamified Educational Program in the Nutrition of Children with Obesity

[EN]Obesity is considered a global epidemic of the twenty-first century by the World Health Organization (WHO). Specifically, the Canary Islands has the highest level of this disease in Europe and 40% of children in Spain are overweight or obese. This increase is a direct result of changes in the lifestyles of the population and its nutrition. Because of this, we have designed an educational program based on motor games, active videogames and virtual learning environments to improve the long-term health of children. This article presents and analyzes the results of a study on the nutritional knowledge and adherence to the Mediterranean diet of 46 obese children aged 6 to 12 years in the Canary Islands who participated in an educational program. The study design was quasi-experimental, with two groups (experimental and control). A long-term longitudinal study (3 years) was carried out. A set of evaluation instruments was used for the different phases. The results show significant improvements between the experimental and control groups in terms of their knowledge of healthy nutrition and their adherence to the Mediterranean diet. As a main conclusion, we emphasize that a gamified educational intervention program supported by ICT helps to motivate and promote improvements in the nutrition of children

Improving Cognitive Visual-Motor Abilities in Individuals with Down Syndrome

Down syndrome causes a reduction in cognitive abilities, with visual-motor skills being particularly affected. In this work, we have focused on this skill in order to stimulate better learning. The proposal relies on stimulating the cognitive visual-motor skills of individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) using exercises with a gestural interaction platform based on the KINECT sensor named TANGO:H, the goal being to improve them. To validate the proposal, an experimental single-case study method was designed using two groups: a control group and an experimental one, with similar cognitive ages. Didactic exercises were provided to the experimental group using visual cognitive stimulation. These exercises were created on the TANGO:H Designer, a platform that was designed for gestural interaction using the KINECT sensor. As a result, TANGO:H allows for visual-motor cognitive stimulation through the movement of hands, arms, feet and head. The “Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA)” was applied to both groups as a pre-test and post-test in its four reference sections: visual comprehension, visual-motor sequential memory, visual association, and visual integration. Two checks were made, one using the longitudinal comparison of the pre-test/post-test of the experimental group, and another that relied on comparing the difference of the means of the pre-test/post-test. We also used an observational methodology for the working sessions from the experimental group. Although the statistical results do not show significant differences between the two groups, the results of the observations exhibited an improvement in visual-motor cognitive skills

Treatment of children obesity and diabetes through gamification

Childhood obesity is nowadays a global epidemic. This illness sometimes comes with another associated problem, like Diabetes type II. In this paper we present a case of study about the results of the application of a gamified educational program. A 3-year longitudinal and prospective study was conducted a patient with obesity and diabetes. Different assessments regarding the health state of the patient have been developed (family background, physical/medical, emotional state and physical activity). Using Positive outcomes have been obtained in their medical registers and also, in their health habits. Thus, the application of gamification strategies in the educational program has positive impact in the health

Curriculum de Ciencias de la Computación en Canarias

En 2016, se puso en marcha el Aula Cultural de Pensamiento Computacional de la Universidad de La Laguna para dar respuesta social a la confusión que surge al integrar las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones en la educación. Es importante distinguir entre los términos “Alfabetización Digital”, “Pensamiento Computacional” y “Ciencias de la Computación”. Las habilidades digitales se centran en el uso de la tecnología, mientras que el Pensamiento Computacional implica comprender los fundamentos de las Ciencias de la Computación. Esta materia disuade especialmente a las mujeres de perseguir carreras tecnológicas. En 2021 se puso en marcha el “Proyecto C**4: Curriculum de Ciencias de la Computación en Canarias” para promover las Ciencias de la Computación en los estudios preuniversitarios a través del Pensamiento Computacional. El proyecto, en desarrollo hasta 2024, cuenta con dos acciones: un diagnóstico del sistema educativo en Canarias sobre recursos, formación docente y percepción de los estudiantes; y una hoja de ruta que analice cómo la recién aprobada reforma educativa se adapta a esta realidad. También busca impulsar el conocimiento y la participación de la minoría, abordando las barreras existentes y mejorando la educación en Ciencias de la Computación

PROVITAO: a research program based on active games for help the abulatory treatment of childhood obesity

Childhood obesity is the most prevalent chronic disease in developed and developing countries. Recent studies showed that the Canary Islands are the Spanish region with the highest rate of childhood obesity. However, this disease is easy to prevent, educating children from healthy habits, and, the ICT in general and videogames in particular, represent an opportunity to work towards change. Therefore, this paper presents the design of an educational intervention program to help the ambulatory treatment of childhood obesity. This program is intended for children 8 to 12 years of age with obesity and who come for the first time to the Pediatric Service of the University Hospital of Canaries, and is currently being validated. The partial results show that the satisfaction of the minors with the program is high, emphasizing the focus in games

La cátedra Diseño Industrial 2 B trabajó sobre dispositivos domésticos para desinfección en contexto de la pandemia del COVID-19

TRABAJOS: PROYECTO: Pul.sa / AUTORES: Pilar Peralta y Bautista Mugnaini PROYECTO: Numo / AUTORES: Tamara Toledo y Ramiro Ríos PROYECTO: Zenely / AUTORES: Sergio Olmedo y Manuel Reartes PROYECTO: Torretas de Ozono / AUTORES: Pedro Juan Delgado Bratti y Daniel Shen PROYECTO: ANCO / AUTORES: Belén Sol Quinteros y Bruno Mediavilla PROYECTO: Fructífero / AUTORES: Romina Escudero y Santiago Bognano PROYECTO: Acom / AUTORES: Ariadna Cevasco y M. Laura Gonzalez PROYECTO: NOZ / AUTORES: Camila Rapaline & Tomás Rodriguez BravoLa cátedra Diseño Industrial 2 B trabajó sobre dispositivos domésticos para desinfección en contexto de la pandemia del COVID-19 Compartimos los proyectos realizados por estudiantes de la cátedra Diseño Industrial 2B, que durante la primera parte del año, trabajaron sobre dispositivos domésticos para desinfección en contexto de la pandemia del COVID-19. Desde la Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba) se iniciaron diferentes acciones para adaptar los contenidos de las carreras y atender a las diferentes necesidades sociales en el contexto de emergencia sanitaria. En ese sentido, la cátedra Diseño Industrial 2B se propuso situar la problemática de trabajo en las condiciones generadas por la pandemia del COVID-19, a partir de las cuales se generan cambios en la vida cotidiana, que afectan las actividades y llevan a incorporar nuevos hábitos y formas de relacionarse. La cátedra propuso a sus estudiantes pensar sistemas portátiles para el ámbito doméstico que permitieran la desinfección de elementos y pertenencias en el ingreso al domicilio. El trabajo práctico propuesto, abordó la complejidad de un producto-máquina desde su comprensión como sistema, con piezas intercambiables y/o combinables que posibilitan diferentes instancias de funcionamiento, abarcando la variablidad de escalas, tanto de relación manual como corporal, en cuanto a la observación de actividades, posturas y situaciones de uso.Fil: Oliva, Silvia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: de la Fuente, Federico. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Speroni, Diego. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Franco, Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Cagliero, Leonardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Parra, Javier. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Talmon, Gaspar. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Gili, Agustina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Costamagna, Camila. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Vélez, Simón. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina.Fil: Giménez, Lucas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Cátedra Diseño Industrial; Argentina

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July