Our students recently took part in an event to encourage Liverpool’s older generation to engage with the latest technologies.
We were delighted to be invited by FACT, Liverpool Mutual Homes and the Royal Voluntary Service to the Technology Open Day.
Held in the central hub at FACT, the afternoon session hosted a wide variety of activities, ranging from a Spotify Cafe to being shown how to use social networking site Twitter using a typewriter.
Four eager students from The Studio planned a Minecraft workshop to deliver at the Open Day, explaining the basics of the sandbox game and demonstrating how it can be used for both educational and historical purposes.
Visitors were shown how scaled down models of real buildings can be built within the game as they created a replica of Liverpool’s iconic Adelphi Hotel.
Guests were also talked through the basics of Minecraft using a printed replica keyboard. Some of the attendees had never used a computer before, so getting to grips with the controls was a big learning curve!
Nevertheless, our students rose to the challenge, offering support and guidance whilst at the same time delivering informative tutorials.
Year 12 student Sam ran a specialist workshop focusing on pixel-art within Minecraft, and was able to assist one interested visitor in building his first Minecraft pixel-art structure.
FACT’s Learning Programmer Anna Kronenburg was impressed with the knowledge shown by our students, saying;
“After working with The Studio’s students on the Cloudmaker: Making Minecraft real! project we knew they were real minecraft experts. So we thought there was no one better to show our guests it’s potential and how it all works!”
Ceredig Cattanach-Chell, Learning Coach at The Studio, accompanied the students to the event:
“It’s important to engage older generations with today’s technology. It’s a key part of bridging the gap between today’s digital era and the industrial war generation.
“Our students demonstrated excellent communication skills whilst working with older people who are sometimes frightened by recent advances in technology. They demonstrated with empathy how technology can be used to support and enhance a person’s lifestyle in ways they may never have been aware of.”