November 27, 2021
The Net Media Lab & Mind-Brain R&D participated in the organisation and implementation of the Blended Mobility of School Learners (C2) training, which was held online from 22 to 24 November 2021 in the context of the Erasmus+ project ROBOTICS4DEAF: Robotics through Sign Language: Ensuring Access & Engagement of Students with Disabilities (Deaf or With Hearing Impairment) to the World of Coding & Robotics.
People with deafness or hearing impairment from Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Italy Latvia and Slovakia, participated in the training. Despite the fact that the event was held online there were no difficulties thanks to the sign language Interpreters. During the training, the Interpreters translated everything that was being said by the trainers, who set up a coding environment that was easy to follow and understand.
The participants were trained by Mr Nicholas Moudouros from the Emphasys Centre (Cyprus), Mr Valantis Kefalis, MSc Physicist, Scientific Associate of Net Media Lab, NCSR Demokritos, and teachers of the Margarotto School of Turin (Italy), on the following subjects:
- What is Scratch Coding?
- Scratch Coding Examples
- Scratch interface
- Scratch coding
- Lego Boost and its different robot version (guitar, cat, smarc)
- Lego Boost Coding Examples (i.e. how to lift an object; how to follow a specific itinerary)
- Advanced Lego Boost constructions (Gears / Catapult)
- Introduction to Lego Mindstorm
In between the subjects, children applied what they learned with simple projects, quizzes and challenges. The final part was devoted to a discussion on the impact of robots and computers in the lives of people and the new generation, which was moderated by the Spoleczna Akademis Nauk.
ROBOTICS4DEAF is an Erasmus+ Project which introduces students with deafness or hearing impairment between 10 to 21 years old to coding and robotics in order to support their employability prospects and ensure social inclusion in the digitalisation of the labour market. The Project aims to develop an educational training pack, a digital platform and a mobile application to promote coding and robotics skills to students with deafness or hearing impairment informal or non-formal settings.