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In the research field of cognitive aging, games have gained attention as training interventions to remediate age-related deficits. Cognitive training games on computer, video and mobile platforms have shown ample and positive support. However, the generalized effects are not agreed upon unanimously, and the game tasks are usually simple and decontextualized due to the limitations of measurements. This study adopted a qualitative approach of design-based research (DBR) to systematically review and pragmatically examine the regime, presentation and feedback design of a cognitive training game for older adults. An overview of the literature of cognitive aging and training games was conducted to form the theoretical conjectures of the design, and an iterative cycle and process were employed to develop a mobile game for older adults who are homebound or receiving care in a nursing home. Stakeholders, i.e., elderly users and institutional administrators, were invited to participate in the design process. Using two cycles of design and evaluation, a working prototype of an iPad-based app that accounted for the needs of elderly adults in terms of form, appearance and working function was developed and tested in the actual contexts of the participants' homes and an assisted living facility. The results showed that the cognitive training game developed in this study was accepted by the participants, and a high degree of satisfaction was noted. Moreover, the elements of the interface, including its size, layout and control flow, were tested and found to be suitable for use. This study contributes to the literature by providing design suggestions for such games, including the designs of the cognitive training structure, interface, interaction, instructions and feedback, based on empirical evidence collected in natural settings. This study further suggests that the effectiveness of cognitive training in mobile games be evaluated through field and physical testing on a larger scale in the future.

Understanding book-locating behavior in libraries is important and leads to more effective services that support patrons throughout the book-locating process. This study adopted a design-based approach to incorporate robotic assistance in investigating the booklocating behaviors of child patrons, and developed a service robot for child patrons in library settings. We describe the iterative cycles and process to develop a robot to assist with locating resources in libraries. Stakeholders, including child patrons and librarians, were consulted about their needs, preferences, and performance in locating library resources with robotic assistance. Their needs were analyzed and incorporated into the design of the library robot to provide comprehensive support. The results of the study suggest that the library robot was effective as a mobile and humanoid service agent for providing motivation and knowledgeable guidance to help child patrons in the initially complicated sequence of locating resources.

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Motivated by mixed evidence on the effectiveness of reading companions on children’s reading performance, as well as the clear and present need for libraries to conduct literacy education, this study sought to investigate the feasibility of using social robots in library literacy activities and to extract the essential functions of effective reading companions by comparing human and robot co‐readers. A humanoid robot, Robot Julia, was developed as a social robot to provide oral conversation and offer children tactful and stimulating support for their reading. An experimental study was conducted to examine child patrons’ perceptions and performance in reading activities with the robot companion as compared to human companions. A total of 36 elementary school children participated in the study. The results positively supported that the participants perceived the robot companion as more favourable and desirable to read with than a human co‐reader. The children favoured robotic verbalisation over human verbalisation. According to the results of the comparison, cognitively it was found that human and robot companions facilitated children’s reading comprehension in different ways and that the children performed similarly well with both kinds of reading companions. Affectively, the robot co‐reader induced more social interaction during the reading sessions. Despite all the positive aspects, it is also necessary to consider the limitations including the novelty effect of the approach. This study contributes empirical evidence in the pragmatic field of library science and expands upon social robot research by exploring one‐on‐one child–robot interactions in reading, as opposed to the group contexts in previous studies.

This paper reports on the implementation of a learner identification system developed to facilitate real-time interaction in an international distance course. To increase the teacher immediacy and social presence, it proposes an integrative system for incorporating technology to improve the learning involvement, teaching effectiveness, and quality of interaction in the context of distance education. After the system was implemented in a formal international distance course involving universities in Japan and Taiwan for a semester, the results of the formative evaluation suggested that a perceived integrative classroom environment was achieved. The instructors and learners agreed that the system effectively and seamlessly integrated synchronous and asynchronous learning through the computing components of face and speech recognition. It was also found that the improved interaction led to a better sense of learning community and improved performance. This study concludes that the system could be useful in improving interactions and reducing students' feelings of isolation in distance courses by increasing their social presence. Suggestions for future studies and system development are also provided.

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