Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education
Celebrating 25+ Years of
Service to the IT in Education / E-Learning Community
Celebrating 25+ Years of
Service to the IT in Education / E-Learning Community
Room: 17
Wed, Jul. 2 6:45 PM-8:15 PM
Authors:
Paul Pivec, Deakin University, Australia
Abstract:
This paper examines the possibility that dance games such as Dance Dance Revolution or StepMania enhance the cognitive abilities that are critical to academic achievement. These games appear to place a high cognitive load on working memory requiring the player to convert a visual signal to a physical movement up to 7 times per second. Players see a pattern of directions displayed on the screen and they memorise these as a dance sequence. Other researchers have found that attention span and memory ability, both cognitive abilities required for academic achievement, are improved through the use of physical movement and exercise. This paper reviews these claims and documents tool development for on-going research by the author.
