Dates of the event: 06-10 November 2017
Place: Varna, Bulgaria
More than 100 participants delivered or attended tens of workshops and tools covering topics such as digital learning, internet of things, creative writing, virtual reality, designing the environment, using Minecraft for educational purposes, and more.
The largest fair of informal learning tools in Europe, “Tool Fair XII: Waves of Innovation”, was held from 6 to 10 November in the framework of transnational cooperation activities (TCA). This year’s 12th edition was held in Varna, the Bulgarian town on the Black Sea coast, which was proclaimed the capital of the year 2017. The event was attended by 106 participants from 36 countries, with up to 4 continents, each presenting their non-formal learning tool. Croatia had four excellent representatives at the fair: Ana Vlah from LenTinTin Studios / Association Strive!, Dalia Abdel Rahim from the Entertainment Laboratory, Zrinka Suk from the Oceans of Knowledge in Croatia, and Miroslav Wrank from Terrible Creations Ltd. The Croatian National Agency AMPEU represented Manda Pocrnić.
Ana Vlah held a workshop where she demonstrated an innovative non-formal learning tool called “Robot Puppet Theater”. This tool, designed by 16-year-olds, combining knowledge from the STEM fields with creativity, art, and the literary works that children read in school. Young people design the idea for the play, form the theatre script, program the movement of the puppets, design the background and the puppets themselves, and record sounds or dialogue. This tool encourages young people to solve problems independently, boosts their interest in computing and robotics, encourages creative expression, etc.
When we asked Ana to share with us her experience from the International Tool Fair, she said:
“I ‘ve caught some good teaching and’ playing ‘methods, and some good ways of thinking. I was very interested in a game that shows/describes procedural thinking or ‘computational thinking’. I would like to use it in life (in any way). I also got some useful tips on creative writing as a tool and technique. I also joined the Doctor of Science from Ukraine, which runs the project ‘Philosophy for Children’, something that I think our society is chronically lacking, and what I would like to ‘bring’ to Croatia. Otherwise, the P4C initiative was created in the United States and is very popular in the UK. ”
That was Strive!’s first cooperation on an international level with a startup, and second participation as the organization in the Transnational Cooperation Activities (TCA) coordinated by AMPEU. We have continued the cooperation with LenTinTin Studios by developing the international training course “ArTech Plus: Robot Puppet Theatre”.
Author: Mateja Gabor
Articles:
http://www.mobilnost.hr/hr/novosti/odrzan-tool-fair-xii-u-bugarskoj/