The Glow Team were delighted to attend the grand final of the annual Aberdeenshire GamesCon at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
The competition was open to learners in P6 & P7 and S1 – S3 and linked into many areas from across the curriculum.
I was delighted to be invited to this event that develops digital skills and soft skills required in our rapidly evolving world. Skills like: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation. It was also great to see Glow embedded throughout the process for collaboration and for the collation of evidence and materials for the competition . Please see below an overview of the competition and the grand final on the 20th June.
The Challenge
The theme of the challenge for the GamesCon competition this year was based around Global Goal number 14 – Life Below Water.
Teams had to use their coding skills to design and build a game in Scratch for Macduff Marine Aquarium, which will encourage their visitors to consider the impact that human beings have on our seas and what they can do to help.
The winning team will have their game refined by Robert Gordon University before being launched at Macduff Marine Aquarium where visitors will be able to scan QR codes around the building to play the game.
How did it work?
Teams from across Aberdeenshire worked on the above challenge for a few months where they collaboratively worked on researching Global Goal number 14 – Life Below Water, before designing and building a game in Scratch. Teams that reached the final, were then invited to Robert Gordon University to find out who would be the overall winners.
What were they judged on?
It’s not just about the game. Teams are judged on:
- Planning and Project Work
- Theme Research
- Storyboarding
- Game Production
- Testing
- Marketing
- Collaboration
- Problem Solving
Where does Glow come in?
Glow was central to all aspects of the competition.
Aberdeenshire Love Learning team used:
- A Glow Blog – Capture and share information re the competition
- A Microsoft SharePoint site – Digital Hub to support pedagogy
Teams used:
- Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom – Collaborating on team content
- Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides – Marketing presentations
- Google Sites – Creating a website to support with marketing their game and evidencing their research
- Microsoft Sharepoint – All team content (Videos, Presentations, Images, Documentation and Scratch Game) had to be uploaded into a central site for the Aberdeenshire Love Learning team to judge to assess who would be invited to the final
Keynotes
The day consisted of keynotes from the following speakers:
Love Learning Team, Aberdeenshire Council
- Overview of the benefits of GamesCon, the importance of Computing Skills and The Rise of AI
Marie Dare, Education Officer, Macduff Aquarium
- “Global Goal 14” and the impact Climate Change and Waste Pollution have on our environment
Dean of the School of Computing, Robert Gordon University
- “Never Stop Gaming” and the job opportunities within the Gaming Industry
Computing and Creative Design Student, Robert Gordon University
- “My Computing Pathway Journey”, including information about Aberdeenshire Foundation Apprenticeship opportunities
Glow Product Manager, Education Scotland
- “Glowing Opportunities”, how to creatively use some of the tools within Glow
Glow Keynote
Snapshot of some of the slides used in the Glow Keynote, Glowing Opportunities.
Teacher Feedback
Primary Head Teacher – Huge thank you to the Aberdeenshire Love Learning Team for getting it all organised and making it such a positive experience. It was tremendous!
Primary Teacher – A fantastic learning experience and amazing Event. A huge thank you from Hillside also. A huge amount of time and effort went into this and our learners are so lucky to have had this incredible experience. Speakers were outstanding and such a fun, lovely atmosphere and engaging event. Looking forward to next year already!
Primary Teacher – Thanks, from Catterline School, too. The children had a great time, and the event was inspiring and very well organised.
Secondary Teacher – Thank you very much for GamesCon. It was my first experience but hopefully not my last. We’ve learnt a lot from it and are looking forward to the next one.
The Glow Team would like to thank the Love Learning Team in Aberdeenshire for the invite and for allowing us to share this story about your event.
GamesCon Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Please reach out via Glow.Engagment@educationscotland.gov.scot if you’d like to find out more.