Northern Voice 2007

The Digital Dragon Boat Race Project [http://www.mobilemuse.ca/projects/digital-dragon-boat-race] is an initiative of the Amusement Team within Mobile MUSE (Media-rich Urban Shared Experience) [http://mobilemuse.ca] that will use mobile technologies in novel ways to engage people in cultural festivals, events and urban experiences leading up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The mission is to explore how mobile applications can enrich cultural experiences and foster community by engaging people on the street and other public spaces.

The project combines learning, culture and collaborative objectives by enabling players using their mobile phone web-browser to discover locations of cultural significance to the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Chinatown. Our research has used this project to explore how mobile applications can enrich cultural experiences and build community. An ethnographic case study of teams during game play supported by questionnaires and interviews provide examples of their collaborative experiences. I will be discussing the lessons learned from our project.

Phillip Jeffrey

Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre home department (MSc Candidate)

University of British Columbia

phillipj@ece.ubc.ca

http://fadetoplay.com