An interactive learning tool developed by UQ multimedia design students has received first place in the student category of the prestigious Australian Computer Society (ACS) Queensland ICT Awards.
Team members Lilys Thamrin, Diem Phuong, Hoomie Hung, Melody Co and Zunnarain Zaini won the Student Project Award for their iMage table, an innovative educational tool for prep-school children.
Constructed using a child's table, the iMage table's surface comes to life with colourful animations and sounds when a plastic number or letter is placed over one of the sensors located beneath the table surface.
Group member Lilys Thamrin, who completed a Master of Interaction Design in 2008, said the iMage table was designed for children to learn independently in their own time and at their own pace.
"It's an educational tool which facilitates visual and auditory recognition of letters and numbers, including the simulation of adding two numbers," Ms Thamrin said.
"The concept merges the physical and digital worlds by having real plastic numbers and letters that children can easily recognise and then turning these into graphical animation triggers on a table surface.
"The project explores ways in which children interact with technology and how it can be used to supplement their basic literacy and numeracy skills by repetitive play."
The ACS ICT Student Project Award recognises a student project undertaken at a Queensland secondary or tertiary education institution and emphasises practical demonstration of ICT skills and applications.
Interaction Design lecturer in UQ's School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Dr Stephen Viller said the group successfully applied interaction design methods to a real-world setting.
"The team conducted a wide range of tests and user research, focusing on how the iMage table would actually be used in prep-school classrooms to ensure the final product met the usability requirements of both teachers and students," Dr Viller said.
Judged by a panel of industry, government and academic experts, the iMage table took on 10 other student innovations to claim the top prize.
School IT and Multimedia programs First Year Coordinator Dr Kathy Egea said the awards played a crucial role in giving students a start in the ICT industry.
“It’s important to get student projects out into the industry and winning this award gives these students the external validation and encouragement they need to succeed as ICT professionals,” Dr Egea said.
UQ students submitted eight of the 11 projects received in the student category.
UQ offers undergraduate and postgraduate coursework studies in both multimedia design and interaction design – visit www.study.itee.uq.edu.au for details.
Media: Alice Walker at the Faculty of EAIT (07 3346 7696, a.walker1@uq.edu.au) or Steve Forster at the School of ITEE (07 3365 2392, s.forster@uq.edu.au)
