EduGaming: Luleå, March 2019

Lego robot programming challenges at Teknikens hus, the Luleå Science Center close to the Luleå University campus area

In late March 2019 it was time for the Big Event at Tunaskolan in Luleå: we hosted a one week Student Training session, within the framework of our EU EduGaming school collaboration project. Our guests from Italy and Portugal - both teachers and students - got to try out programming Lego robots at the Luleå Science Center, check out virtual reality used in mining (by courtesy of LTU Business at the Luleå University of Technology) and take part in workshops where we used both Minetest and CoSpaces for game creation.

The guest students stayed with the Swedish host families during the week that also proved that the (almost) Arctic winter can be a very pleasant experience - and definitely an exotic one, especially for those used to a very warm climate!   

It was a great but also a very hectic week; many thanks to everyone who contributed to the activities and logistics during these days!

EduGaming Teambuildning Luleå: March 2019

When we started the week, the students had been divided into groups. In each group there were students from Trani, Figuera da foz and Luleå. When the students did not work on building games, they also had to do different things together to get to know each other. One day we went to Luleå University campus where Luleå’s Science Center is located (Teknikens hus). There they got to explore the place together but also a special assignment to program a robot to perform different things. After an introduction of the staff, they together had to solve the tasks in teams. They learned that one must be very precise in their commands. All students thought it was fun and wanted to do many different assignments. Teachers from Portugal and Italy had to help translate when English became too difficult. 

While half the student group worked on assignments and programming, the remaining students were allowed to visit Luleå University, Virtual Reality LAB. Here, the students got a brief introduction on how the mining industry is developing ways to use the VR world to get a greener, more efficient, attractive and safer mining environment. They utilize the technology that already exists in various games. The students got to try and throw themselves into the virtual world with the headset on and teleported one by one into a mine where they then got free hands to explore, discover and experience the mine of the future. They flew with drones, blasted into the rock and drilled in the mine and the students wandered around in the mine as if it were real. They got to see the machines and experience the darkness. While a student was in the mine, the group could participate by looking at a large screen and helping by saying how to do or walk. The students' impression was that this was a good way to use the technology and they were many of the students who had never been in a mine previously that were  impressed. Games can benefit from fun even in the mining industry.

When the students did this, it sometimes became difficult to explain in English and we had no teachers from Trani and Portugal in the same group. But as always, the body language helps a lot and finally the students could understand how they would do with the help of their friends. So when doing similar things it is important that there are teachers from all countries included in each group so you can be helped when there are difficulties with the language because it should go really smoothly.