The Multiplier event in Denmark took place in Aalborg on Tuesday the 27th April 2021 and online on Zoom. The event was held at Aalborg University at Department of Architecture, Design, and Media Technology (CREATE) and it was a workshop which introduced the participants to the DigiCulture massive online open courses (MOOCs).
The workshop hadspecial focus on the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality DigiCulture Course, where the participants were given a chance to try and build their own Virtual Reality with help from the course material
Agenda
- 13:00 - Bastian I. Hougaard
- Creativity with Technology
- 13:15 - Diana Andone
- About the DigiCulture Project (English)
- 13:30 - Everyone
- Group Photo
- 13:35 - Bastian I. Hougaard
- Introduction to VR Tools
- 14:00 - Workshop
- Online Courses Workshop
The event was advertised through VisionDenmark creative network in Denmark, via the local jobcenter, through a newsletter from a worker’s union (HK Denmark). The event was further advertised on social media (Linked In, Facebook, Twitter) and took part in the national Science Week (Forskningens Døgn).
Participants came from the fields of Music, Theater, Arts, Advertising, Marketing, IT, Tourism, Museum, Galleries and Libraries. The event had 7 participants physically present and 10 virtual participants
Bastian Ilsø Hougaard and Hendrik Knoche from Aalborg University introduced the workshop schedule to the participants titled “Digital Competencies for Creative Brains”.
Dr. Diana Andone, the project coordinator, gave an introduction to the DigiCulture project. Bastian Ilsø Hougaard then started the workshop, titled “Introduction to Virtual Reality Tools”.
The participants were given an introduction to Virtual Reality and walked through how to sign up for the DigiCulture courses.
Participants were then assembled into teams and had to choose a challenge which they wanted to work with as the topic for the workshop. Four challenges were introduced with the themes “Mindfulness and Therapy”, “Thought-Provoking VR”, “Indoor and Outdoor VR Exhibitions” and “VR Game Prototype”. Bastian Ilsø Hougaard then demonstrated the Virtual Reality tool called “CoSpaces”.
The participants then worked in groups to develop something using the DigiCulture VR course material. Physical participants were also given access to a HTC Vive Virtual Reality headset and a Samsung 360° camera.
Afterwards, each team presented their virtual reality solution and gave feedback on each others proposal. Using the DigiCulture Virtual Reality online course, the participant uploaded their Virtual Reality projects to share them with each other and the rest of the MOOC learners.
After the challenges had been completed, the participants were then asked to brainstorm in their groups, how they thought the DigiCulture online courses could be applied in their field.
Two participants who worked in the tourism sector explained that they could imagine that using digital competencies in Virtual Reality, could help people looking at hotels in Denmark preview the hotel rooms prior to their reservations.
Another two participants from design and visual arts, explained that it was nice to understand the capabilities and limitations of virtual reality as a new medium for expression. The participants wanted more from the CoSpaces Virtual Reality tool, but they thought it was a good introduction to beginners with Virtual Reality.
Now, you can watch the event virtually on Youtube, by accessing the link below:
Due to cancellations, less than the minimum number of participants budgeted by the project has been acquired, but overall the workshop provided a useful initial insight into how the DigiCulture online courses introduce new digital competencies.
