Waikato CD An Award Winner

Waikato CD An Award Winner

A CD-rom training device, CD-DRIVES, which helps teach learner drivers, has won first prize in this year's TUANZ interactive awards held in Wellington.

The interactive multimedia CD is the result of a collaborative team effort that was directed by Waikato University psychologist Robert Isler and Video Producer Craig Cockerton from the Waikato Innovation Centre of Electronic Education. Wellington-based Octobor Interactive also helped develop the CD, which is aimed at all learner drivers throughout New Zealand.

Dr Isler says they are "stoked" to receive the award, which he says is well respected within the industry.

"It is an acknowledgment of the brilliant work people have put in to realising this important project and it's very gratifying to get recognition of almost two years work."

TUANZ, the Telecommunications Users Association of NZ, recognises excellence in the interactive and media design industry through the awards. Now in their eighth year, the awards highlight New Zealand developers who are achieving international acclaim for their work.

The team won in the Education category, where they were up against four other nominations. This category highlighted projects which demonstrate online, interactive media with specific educational outcomes. Overall there were more than 120 entries from throughout New Zealand.

Dr Isler says the project came about because of the over-representation of novice drivers in fatal crash statistics.

"This is a well-known and world-wide road safety problem, novice drivers lack higher level driving skills such as eye-scanning, hazard detection and risk management," he says.

The CD forms part of a "Practice" programme, a joint initiative between the ACC and LTSA to promote supervised driving and is freely available to all novice drivers. It represents cutting-edge video technology and features live-action videos of real traffic situations.

"It means the novice drivers can load the disc on to their computer, and it's as if they are out there driving, they can test their reactions when something happens and sharpen life- saving skills from the safety of their own homes," Dr Isler says.

The Practice programme that includes the CD-rom can be ordered at no cost from: http://www.practice.co.nz/

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