https://citris-uc.org/research/project/wordwalk/
WordWalk, BingoWalk, PokerWalk,
Overview
WordWalk, BingoWalk, and PokerWalk are iPad-based games designed to encourage walking, sociality, exploration of city spaces, and cognitive health.
Location: Berkeley, CA
Year: 2016-
Purpose
WordWalk, BingoWalk, and PokerWalk are iPad-based games designed to encourage walking, sociality, exploration of city spaces, and cognitive health. The games have been tested in various settings, including an arts festival, a neighborhood community center, and a senior citizen center.
Wordwalk:
WordWalk is played in two parts. In Part 1, three-person teams walk a predetermined half-mile route, beginning and ending at a specified base. The route is displayed on an IPad screen. Players must find six points along the route. At each spot, four letters appear in sequence on their iPad screens and then are moved to a separate file. Each letter has a numeric value, similar to Scrabble. In Part 2, the teams return to their base to play the 24 letters they collected during the walk. They have 15 minutes to construct and submit as many words as they can from the available letters. Highest scoring teams win prizes.
WordWalk has been piloted at the North Berkeley Senior Center (NBSC) among adults aged 55 and older. The game represents a collaboration between researchers in the School of Public Health the Social Apps Lab at UC Berkeley, and the staff of NBSC.
The field study assesses the feasibility of recruiting and retaining older adults to play WordWalk twice a week over an extended period of time (May – August 2016). It is funded through the UC Berkeley Endowed Chair in Geriatrics. The lead co-principal investigator of the field study is Dr. William Satariano, who currently holds this chai
A total of 20 older volunteers at NBSC were recruited to field test the game on three separate occasions. They reported that the game was fun, enabling them to meet new people, improve their health and fitness by walking the city, as well as learn and be more confident in their use of an iPad. Based on these field tests, enhancements have been made, such as improvement of graphics and the addition of an auditory component. To reduce distraction and enhance safety, the iPad screen goes blank while users are walking and reappears when they stop.
The results of the study will be used to prepare a separate grant to conduct a more formal pilot study to assess whether playing the game improves levels of physical activity and enhances cognitive function. Researchers at UCSF and UC Davis will join the team to conduct the community trial.
Bingowalk:
BingoWalk is an electronic innovation of traditional bingo played on iPads. It features a novel bingo card. Unlike traditional cards, the BingoWalk grid is overlayed on top of a digital map. Using GPS, players can track their position as they play bingo. Players play BingoWalk by walking around in the real world, starting and ending from a predetermined base (such as a senior center). Displayed on the screen is a map of the area surrounding the base (approximately a quartet-mile radius) with walking routes to specific destinations (e.g., a library or park). All routes emanate from the base and are highlighted with landmarks. As the team reaches a landmark (a flag icon), a letter/number appears on the screen (e.g., “B12”). The team then pushes a button to display a standard bingo card to see whether that letter/number is on its card. If so, the square is illuminated by touching it. The team then returns to the neighborhood screen and follows the route to the next destination, checking at each landmark whether the letter/number is on its card. Once the team reaches all destinations, it returns to the base along the same route. As it arrives at the landmarks on the return, new letters/numbers appear. The game ends when the team gets to the base, where it may meet other teams and play their cards.
PokerWalk:
A group of players get together to play poker. They delineate a “magic circle” on their iPad maps within which to receive virtual cards. Each player receives a set number of cards, depending on the poker game. The PokerWalk server places each card at a different spot on the map and notifies the player of its location. Each player walks to each location to pick up the card electronically. It’s stored on the iPad. Once time is up, or the player has retrieved all the cards, they meet the other players somewhere (a café, restaurant, park, home) and play their hands.
Implementation:
A total of 20 volunteers of older volunteers at NBSC were recruited to field test the game on three separate occasions (dates? m/yr). They reported that the game was fun, enabling them to meet new people, improve their health and fitness, as well as learn and be more confident in their use of an iPad. Based on these field tests, enhancements have been made, such as improvement of graphics and the addition of an auditory component.
WordWalk was piloted at the North Berkeley Senior Center among adults aged 55 and older. The game, played in three-person teams, represents a collaboration between researchers in the School of Public Health and the Social Apps Lab at UC Berkeley.
Impact:
The results of the study will be used to prepare a separate grant to conduct a more formal pilot study to assess whether playing the game improves levels of physical activity and enhances cognitive function. Researchers at UCSF and UC Davis will join the team to conduct the community trial.
Researchers and Contributors:
Principal Investigators: James Holston, Professor, Anthropology, UC Berkeley, and Greg Niemeyer, Associate Professor, New Media Studies, UC Berkeley
Co-Investigator: William Satariano, Professor, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley
Lead Developer: Dmitri Skjorshammer
