The ability to describe motion is a fundamental skill
needed by kinesiologists. The basics of motion analysis are
taught in Movement Science 330, a course that is offered
each semester. Active learning using instructional
technology is incorporated into the course project. Students
learn to analyze human motion by capturing movements of
their choice on videotape and then transferring the images
to digital format on the computer. Once in digital format,
the students conduct biomechanical analyses to determine the
essential elements of human motor performance.
This project was conceived and designed by Melissa Gross
and was developed with support from
the Information
Technology Division's Office of Instructional Technology
(OIT). Services
and equipment essential to the project are made available to
students at OIT's
Instructional
Technology Lab (ITL) and
New
Media Center (NMC). Funding to develop the project was
provided by the
ITD/Division
of Kinesiology Partnership
Project Description
Students work in teams to compare the biomechanics of two
movements of their choice. The project requires students to
do the following:
- select the movements to be compared
- plan a biomechanical analysis
- capture the motions on videotape
- convert the videotaped images to digital format
- generate x and y coordinates for the joint markers
- analyze the movement biomechanics, including
temporal, linear, and angular measures
- write a report with embedded motion images and graphs
- publish their report on the web
Technology Requirements
To complete their projects, students work with the
following software on Macintosh computers:
- video digitizing software (FusionRecorder) on
classroom workstations at UM New Media Center
- custom software for transforming Quicktime movies to
PICT files (developed by UM's
OIT)
- image digitizing software
(MotionCapture)
for digitizing joint markers
- biomechanical software
(MotionAnalyse)
for generating project data
- spreadsheet software (Excel) for producing graphs and
descriptive statistics
- word processing software (Word) for producing the
final report
- HTML authoring software (Home Page) for putting
reports on the web
Project Example
Students use biomechanical data to answer a question
about human movement, such as the effect of flippers on the
kinematics of kicking (below). For other projects, see
Past Projects.
Swimming with flippers vs. swimming without flippers