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changed significantly once the children were explained about some of the possible
interactions. The interactions that were explained to the children, were:
1. Each player within the playground is followed by a coloured circle.
2. Shapes in the playground flee when players become more active.
3. Shapes can be caught by following them for a short period.
4. By standing with at least two players in the middle of the playground, a 'nutritious
well' can be activated that sparks the creation of additional shapes.
5. By shaking a players ball, that player would receive a 'guardian creature'.
After the second play-phase, a debriefing interview was conducted with each partici-
pating group. These interviews were conducted group-wise, to create a more natural
context for children to be interviewed in (Eder and Fingerson
2002
).
5.7.1.2
Measures
A modified version of the OPOS observation scheme (Bakker et al.
2008
) was used
to record observations along the main goals defined in Sect.
5.4.4
(physical activity,
gamespace & social interaction). Additionally, a system-log was kept that recorded
when an interaction was triggered by one of the children, what interaction was trig-
gered, and who triggered the interaction. The log was kept to be able to link player
behaviour to system events (such as triggering of interactions). No separate anal-
ysis was performed on the log data, since the evaluation's goal was to investigate
player behaviour rather than system behaviour. The fact that an interaction had been
triggered would not imply that this interaction had actually influenced the children's
play, for example because the results of the interaction were not noticed by the play-
ers. Finally, semi-structured group interviews were conducted to collect data about
the children's awareness of the interaction possibilities, their general experience of
being in the playground, as well as remarks for improvements.
5.7.1.3
Data Gathering Process
All playground sessions were video-taped with two synchronized infra-red video
cameras, filming the playground from two different angles and covering the entire
playground space. All videos have subsequently been coded with the OPOS obser-
vation scheme. Annotations have been performed group-wise during all sessions.
That is, if three players from a group were running around wildly and one player was
standing still, the
physical activity
tier for that instance would be labelled
intense
physical activity
.
5.7.1.4
Demography
Nineteen children (10 male, 9 female) from three daycare centres in the region of
Enschede, The Netherlands, have participated in the evaluation. Their age varied
between 6 and 11 (Mdn = 8, SD = 1.57).
