Math + Ice Cream = Research
I just uploaded my very first YouTube video. When I started grad school this past semester, besides classes and my own fledgling research project, I joined an ongoing research project called Scoop! with my advisor and our lab group.
We are using Scoop! to explore the relationship of emotion and gesture design in games. Using something known as power poses, our goal is to demonstrate that it's possible to increase confidence and reduce anxiety in math learning for children through their motion interactions with a game. This video complements a submission to the CHI 2012 conference. It only touches on the main points of the project to help reviewers process the lengthier prose also submitted — hence why it may not make a great deal of sense to you.
My part of the project has been to help restructure the game mechanics to better support the ultimate aims of the study. The first study (before my time) revealed the need to rework and refine the experiment setup for another round of testing with school age kids. I modified the existing game code somewhat, created the software for the multitouch trackpad you see in the video, and assembled a non-video game version for comparison testing using large paper strips and magnets.
This is the very first time I've ever edited video. I completely enjoyed it. Admittedly, I am entirely an amateur so please be gentle with me [Cough. Professional film friends. Cough.].