It Takes Teamwork and Technology! : NCHPAD - Building Healthy Inclusive Communities

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F.I.T.T. Column: It Takes Teamwork and Technology!

Associate Director, Amy Rauworth

Technology and physical activity are sometimes unlikely partners. As technology advances, daily life often requires less movement. Wii Fit by Nintendo was released in May in the U.S. and soon sold out, with over 500,000 copies flying off the shelves. The game has about 40 different options that utilize a Wii Balance Board or Wii Remote and include activities such as yoga poses, push-ups, and other exercises.

Nintendo may be able to spark interest in the plain old push-up, but what could a few Cal Poly students, an enthusiastic professor, a test pilot named Bryan Gingg and funding from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Foundation do in the Back Bay area of Morro Bay?

"Wow, it's hard to describe the feeling," said Bryan Gingg when I first asked him how it felt to independently pilot a kayak through Morro Bay. Bryan, a Cal Poly alum, grew up in the area and had not been on the Back Bay for nearly 25 years. He and his wife Beverly met at Cal Poly and had their first date at Morro Bay. Bryan started this adventure approximately 6 years ago when he attempted to use a tandem kayak. It was determined to be too risky and then he met Professor Kevin Taylor, Ph.D., from the Kinesiology Department of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, who was up for the challenge.

Dr. Taylor began teaching at Cal Poly approximately 9 years ago. Although he had no previous experience in adapted physical education, he was asked to teach an adapted PE class three times a year. He looked at this challenge as an opportunity for growth and immediately embraced the area. In his Kinesiology 307 course, "Adapted Physical Activity," students embrace Cal Poly's motto, "learn by doing." The class is required for all kinesiology majors and in the lab portion, students participate in programs designed to provide adapted physical activity experiences for people in the community with various disabilities.

Dr. Taylor started the Adapted Physical Activity programs and now serves as their director. By appointing graduate students as program coordinators, Dr. Taylor is able to sustain all three programs in addition to his other university commitments. These service learning programs now incorporate collaborations between students and faculty in kinesiology, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, and psychology.

The Adapted Paddling Program, one of the three service learning programs, began in 1999. In 2003, a kinesiology student named Dan Littlefield was looking for a meaningful senior project and with the help of Professor Taylor, Professor Frank Owen (Mechanical Engineering), and Seaton Shiraga (engineering student), his goal was realized through an $11,000 grant funded by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Foundation to develop the SoloQuad Conversion Project.

The SoloQuad conversion presented the team with several challenges with the primary issues being stability, seating, and control. Over the 5 years of the grant, the project went through 5 different seats, 3 different means of adding stability, 4 different control mechanisms, 13 kinesiology students, 22 mechanical engineering students, and 4 computer engineering students.

The SoloQuad conversion kayak has a small electric motor. Kayakers with quadriplegia like Bryan can sip or puff on the straw, sending signals to the kayak's sensor controls to operate the craft. The high-tech kayak also includes a joystick feature for individuals with paraplegia.

Current kinesiology student project manager Zach Thurow and a cadre of students were on hand at Morro Bay on May 16 to situate Bryan in the kayak and monitor the test of the kayak and sensor system. Other students formed a flotilla of 13 safety paddlers in kayaks surrounding Bryan in the SoloQuad conversion kayak during its journey. The maiden voyage was a success!

Dr. Taylor admits that this project has taught him a lesson in patience. But the win-win environment made it all worthwhile! He has seen firsthand the change in attitudes in his students towards people with disabilities. He commented, "It opened their eyes and added depth to their professional growth."

Although Bryan was a bit apprehensive at first, he stated that it was an unbelievable experience to be by himself and "commander in chief " of the SoloQuad conversion kayak in the waters of the ocean that he enjoyed so much as a boy.