A MATHS app and cyber safety program for children added up to a double win for ECU in WA’s technology awards.
Two ECU projects won awards at the WAITTA (WA Information Technology and Telecommunications Alliance) Incite Awards on June 15.
Another two were national finalists, meaning four teams from the university will represent WA at the National iAwards in August.
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One of the winning projects was a maths app, Abydos, developed by ECU’s Martin Masek and Julie Boston in partnership with St Stephen’s School to improve primary students’ skills in fractions.
The game is set in ancient Egypt and blends fractions into Egyptian history.
“Abydos has artificial intelligence built in to the app which monitors students’ answers to different problems,” Dr Masek said.
“For example if a student gives three incorrect answers to a problem, the app will modify the next problem to a lower level and vice-versa.
“The app works just like a traditional videogame in this respect, but instead of driving, or chasing monsters it’s teaching fractions.”
It won the most transformative impact on education award and is available on iTunes and Google Play.
A group of computer science masters students won the postgraduate tertiary student research and innovation project of the year award for their cyber safety program, CyberMe.
The program uses games and teaching modules to let primary and secondary students teach themselves about cyber security.
It was developed by Vaskar Kadel, Khushi Bhatt, Jaspreet Kaur, Soumya Ranjith, Geeth Nammunni Arachchige and Indu Goyal.
In the same category, a group of science students were named national finalists for a project that could make it easier to detect a common cyber security threats, Automated Malware Analysis Tool – Deploy.
AMAT-Deploy, developed by Gareth Clarson, Yaroslav Lukyanchenko, Tarun Patel, Adrian Wood, Sam Wakeling and Radek Vaclavik, could make it easier for small businesses to protect themselves from malware.
A team of computer science students was a finalist in the undergraduate tertiary student project of the year category for its virtual reality tool, Social Circles.
Developed by Jarryd Wimbridge, Marko Vasev and James McNeil and partners in the education sector, the tool helps students with special needs learn about protective behaviour in a safe place.