http://www.neuroludus.com/

NEUROLUDUS

A serious brain training game designed to improve the information processing skills of youth and adults

Research by funded by the Government of Canada, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, and l’Université du Québec à Montréal.

Unlocking the Potential of Youth and Adults to Acquire and Deploy Digital SkillsThe importance of analytical skills in the acquisition and practice of digital skills

www.rewired4technology.com

Design & Development Team:

• France Boutin, Ph.D. , Education, UQAM, Project Director• Chris Chinien, Ph.D. , President, Compétences/Skills R&D Inc.

www.rewired4technology.com

OLES INITIATIVE TO REENGINEER COMPUTER USE AS AN ESSENTIAL SKILLS

DEFINING ESSENTIAL DIGITAL SKILLS IN THE CANADIAN WORKFORCE:

Research Contractor: Compétences/Skills R&D Inc.

Approaches Used to develop Digital Skills Framework:

• International review of literature and research• Experts’ consultation• Key stakeholders validation

• Digital technology is imposing increased demands on people to solve a host of problems and to accomplish highly complex tasks.

• In order to process huge amount of complex information quickly and effectively workers must deploy complex cognitive and metacognitive skills.

Information Processing Challenges

Information Processing Challenges

• The information processing demands imposed by the digital environment can become a cause of disorientation for people who lack the necessary cognitive skills.

• Some people, often the most vulnerable, can be left behind because they do not have the necessary cognitive skills to fully benefit from digital technologies.

Reframing the Digital Divide

A digital divide, which was once essentially rooted in physical access to technology and technical skills, has now evolved into a widening divide that is also focused on skills deficiencies in information processing.

Unlocking the Information Processing Skills

Effective strategies must therefore be deployed to assist people to enhance their ability to process information in the digital environment in order to ensure their social adhesion and help them maintain their competitiveness in the labour market.

Importance of Cognitive Controls

Because of the rapidity with which the flow of information takes place, a person needs to have highly developed cognitive controls to be able to cope with the information processing demands effectively and efficiently.

Cognitive Control Field-Dependent /IndependentWhen flying through thick

clouds some fighter pilots lost all sense of orientation (Field-Dependent) others were successful in locating themselves in space without the need of external referents to locate themselves (Field-Independent)

Cognitive Control Field-Dependent /Independent

The field-dependent/field-independent (FD/FI) cognitive control dimension is the most influential construct and has been more extensively researched. This psychological construct relates to a global versus an analytical way of perceiving, and entails the ability to perceive items without being influenced by external referents.

Assessment of Cognitive Control

Witkin used the Rod and Frame Test to classify people as field-dependent and field-independent.

Later the paper and pencil Hidden Figures Test was developed to assess the cognitive control field-dependent and field independent.

RESEARCH: Cognitive Control Field-Dependent /Independent

Field-Independent individuals:

• Focus on relevant information;

• Pay attention to details;

• Deploy more effective and efficient information processing strategies;

• Process information more effectively and efficiently;

• Restructure the information for better comprehension;

RESEARCH: Cognitive Control Field-Dependent /Independent

Field-Independent individuals:

• Create missing information;

• Identify distinctive features in complex environment easily and quickly,

• Solve problems quickly; and

• Deploy information processing strategies that contribute to successful performance.

RESEARCH: Cognitive Control Field-Dependent /Independent

Success in Academic Achievements:

• Field-independent learners outperform field-dependent learners in academic achievement, especially in subjects such as mathematics and sciences;

• Field-independent individuals deploy information processing strategies that contribute to successful learning;

• Field-independent learners tend to have a lower dropout rate, a lower failure rate, and a higher success rate than field-dependent learners; and

• FD/FI accounts for 35 per cent learning differentials.

RESEARCH: Cognitive Control Field-Dependent /Independent

Disorientation in Technology-Rich Environment:

• Highly integrated technology-based environments debilitate field-dependent users because of their limitation in tolerating the information processing load imposed;

• The extent of this debilitation is proportional to the level of technology integration in the environment.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

Attenuating the Information Processing Demands:

• Engineers have started to build-in evidence-based information about field-dependence and field-independence in the design and development of digital systems, tools and associated software in an attempt to attenuate information processing differences among users.

Enhancing Information Processing Skills

• However, these measures have had limited effects for some users. A more promising approach with unlimited potential is to help the users to enhance their level of field-independence so that they can cope with the information processing demand of the environment.

Brain Plasticity and Cognitive Modifiability

Recent revolutionary research in neuroplasticity has demonstrated that the brain is “soft-wired” and can be modified with appropriate training and experiences.

Brain Plasticity and Cognitive Modifiability

• This important discovery in neuroplasticity has inspired us to develop the NEUROLUDUS brain training game.

• The objective of NEUROLUDUS is to improve the information processing skills of youth and adults in order to facilitate the acquisition and deployment of digital skills.

Design and development of NEUROLUDUS

Best Practices in the Design of Brain Training:

• The design of several recent brain training interventions were patterned after a variety of standardized psychological tests;

• The training design for NEUROLUDUS was patterned after the Hidden Figures Test (HFT). The HFT is a valid and reliable instrument that has been extensively used for measuring the cognitive control dimension FD/FI.

• Gamification is used to maintain learners’ interest and engagement;

Game Scenario

Following an environmental disaster, some primitive bacteria have taken over the human brain and are shutting it down. Humans are gradually losing their brainpower. This decline in cognitive abilities is threatening to erode the superiority of the human race over other living organisms. In order to save the human race from this catastrophic cognitive decline, each player must rewire a human brain. The more players engaged in the game, the more people are saved; the more times the game is repeated by a player, more people are saved.

Design and development of NEUROLUDUS

Game Architecture:

• Pre-test and Post-Test;

• In-process assessment;

• The game has 30 levels ordered according to task

difficulty;

• Cognitive apprenticeship model build-into the game

• Feedback and reward system build-into the game

Play Your Way to a smarter Brain!

Please share Neuro-Ludus with friend, colleagues and within your professional and social networks.

Thank you very much!

chinien@gmail.comboutinuqam@gmail.com

http://www.neuroludus.com/