Cláudia Ortet (DigiMedia PhD student), Liliana Costa (DigiMedia member) and Ana Veloso (DigiMedia member), researchers of SEDUCE 2.0, published in the Book Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population – Design, Interaction and Technology Acceptance of the 24th HCI International Conference the papers entitled “Senior-Centered Gamification: An Approach for Cyclotourism” and “Senior Citizens as Storytellers: Contribution to Gamified Contexts”. Additionally, on June 29th, Cláudia presented the papers at the parallel session Web ecologies for Older Adults.
Abstract: There has been an increasing interest in gerontechnology due to the growth of an ageing population and subsequent challenges in interface design development. Methods of user-centered design and gamification have demonstrated to be powerful, leading to an excellent user experience, and also motivating and changing senior citizens’ behaviors. Applying user-centered design and gamification is starting to gain its importance in the design field, but there is still a lack of studies regarding the use of these concepts with senior citizens and/or applied to the cyclotourism context. The goal of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review on user-centered design, user experience and gamification, to outline and propose an approach for senior cyclotourism. The approach is based on user-centered design to senior citizens, followed by gamification design guidelines to the development and testing of products or prototypes. It is recommended that the method should be iterative, unequivocal, and inclusive, performed by a multidisciplinary team and should followed phases of requirement gathering and analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation with subsequent design guidelines. This study may also deliver maneuverable and adaptable guides on how to conduct a method of user-centered design and user experience with gamification for senior citizens applied to other contexts.
Keywords: User-centered design; User experience; Gamification; Senior citizens; Cyclotourism
Abstract: A global demographic turn is observed with senior citizens increasing in number, resulting on wellbeing concerns. That culminates into challenges and opportunities for creating tools, such as digital storytelling and gamification, to promote senior citizens’ interest and motivation to certain activities. While digital storytelling involves the narrative’s potential to facilitate the construction of meaning and sharing experiences with information and communication technologies’ languages, gamification elements can trigger senior citizens’ motivations. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the potential of digital storytelling in gamification. In this context, an iterative approach involving storytelling narratives and gamification should be designed to enhance cyclotourism experiences. The aim of this position paper is to discuss the senior citizens’ digital storytelling applied to gamified cyclotourism to foster participatory strategies and inclusion, exploring their life story while connecting them with others. In specific, it proposes the delivery of a storytelling sessions model to senior citizens integrated with gamification aspects in the cyclotourism context.
Keywords: Senior citizens; Digital storytelling; Gamification; Cyclotourism