COMPUS: the computer is us Erasmus Project

Project Title

COMPUS: the computer is us

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Gender equality / equal opportunities

Project Summary

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the development of computational thinking in schools. Initiatives such as HourOfCode or CodeWeek have encouraged organizations to develop online learning platforms with the support of the European Union. However, these solutions are not useful in situations where there is no possibility of using the Internet or mobile phones. Unplugged Computer Science is a valid alternative in these cases. Among the unplugged CS activities, computational thinking themed board games enable playful learning with almost no effort from students and teachers.

Currently, there is a small set of board games that develop computational thinking skills. Most of these games pose a set of challenges that need to be solved individually. They also put a lot of emphasis on algorithmic thinking and forget other aspects of computational thinking. In addition, these games are licensed under copyright and cannot be printed and played freely so many schools do not use them for budget reasons.

Using low-tech solutions such as board games to develop digital competencies allows different regions with very different realities to take advantage of these learning materials in the same way (a little bit similar to what happens with other games that develop competencies related to abstract thinking or solving problems such as chess or go, which are somehow independent of the socio-economic conditions to be practiced).

Instead of promoting a technology-centered approach to develop computational thinking-related skills, this project advocates for a unplugged computer science approach where abstract concepts are easily learned through physical materials that enable interactions between learners in a fun way.

The aim of the “COMPUS: The computer is us” project was to design, produce and distribute copyleft computational-thinking-related board games in schools.

The first board game is called MOON and covers basic computer architecture concepts (binary, registers, CPU, multitasking, etc.). MOON is an educational game where players will simulate a simple computer. Players have to help the astronauts of the Eagle lunar module to fulfill their mission while they learn how to count in binary, perform logical operations, and find out how a computer works… while also having fun! MOON is recommended for 10-year-olds and older, for 1 to 4 players and an estimated duration of 15-45 minutes (depending on the selected difficulty). During this project, we printed and releashed 3500 copies of this game around the world.

The second game is called Archers of Nand and covers basic data base related concepts (selections of data using logical operations and other functions). In this game, players will fight hordes of orcs using their knowledge of computer databases (the Nand Valley represents a small data TABLE where you will SELECT its territories to attack the orcs). Archers of Nand is recommended for 10-year-olds and older, for 1 to 2 players and an estimated duration of 15-30 minutes (depending on the selected difficulty). During this project, we printed and releashed 1500 copies of this game around the world.

For each board game, we developed serveral video-tutorials to learn how to play and what key aspects are covered. In addition to these board games, we published a +300 page activity book where the topics and the components of both board games are expanded to introduce more computational thinking related concepts.

All educational materials created within the framework of the project (board games and activity book) was published under a Creative Commons BY-CC license and may be freely printed by anyone interested on them.

The design and piloting of the board games of this project involved several European schools (FATIMA, FERDINAND I) of different learning levels as well as OEIiZK and AGR Priority. During the project life different workshops for teachers and open lessons for students of primary and secondary schools were also organized. Their feedback helped to improve the design and educational value of the games. Similarly, all partners of the project contributed to the development of the activity book.

During the last 2 years, we have received constant expressions of appreciation from all over the world, as well as videos, reviews or complementary activities using the COMPUS board games for the development of computational thinking.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 131625 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE LA IGLESIA DE DEUSTO ENTIDAD RELIGIOSA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• SCOALA GIMNAZIALA FERDINAND I
• Osrodek Edukacji Informatycznej i Zastosowan Komputerow w Warszawie
• AGRpriority SL
• Fundación Educativa ACI Esclavas SC-Fatima