In May 2021, 30 pupils from India and Germany explored the subject areas of maths, informatics, science and technology (MINT) together in a digital youth camp.
“I’m not normally very keen on physics at school,” said one participant at the end of the one-week digital youth camp, “but here I saw that physics can be different and it was really fun.” For most of the 14 to 17-year-olds from India and Germany, the online workshop with the School Lab Berlin of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) was a highlight of the digital youth encounter. First, the youngsters had the opportunity to ask a DLR planet researcher questions about the current Mars mission. Then, on screens in their home countries, they watched experiments on how different elements behave in zero gravity. The pupils were excited by the interactive nature of the event and the very professional, friendly and captivating way in which the DLR team made the complex subject of weightlessness accessible.
In a workshop at the Fabmobil art and design lab, pupils learned how to create their own avatars using design software. “I had never done what we learned to do in the workshops before,” said one pupil. “I enjoyed every day of the digital camp, especially the combination of creativity and maths, informatics, science and technology topics.”
The youngsters’ creativity was put to the test in the smartphone film workshop with a professional film maker who accompanied the camp. How can you process videos made using a smartphone? And how can scientific topics be presented in short videos? A globe, close-ups of beetles and plants, the way to school - small mixed teams worked to produce inspiring collaborative films where India and Germany literally fused. These were used to make a short image film which included the pupils’ own films.
Insight into the world of the others
The digital camp participants particularly enjoyed cooperating and working creatively in an extracurricular context. The small-group discussions were great – and seeing what the life of the other participants in Germany and India is like. In general, pupils said that the digital exchange made a great change from normal online lessons where often nobody says anything and all you can see are black screens. One pupils enthused that it was good that so many pupils were actively involved in the digital camp and that it was a real eye-opener for her to get to know all the different opinions and perspectives.
“Learning something new,” “having a great experience,” “getting to know new people,” “lots of room for creativity,” “exchange between cultures” – the answers came in thick and fast when the youngsters were asked in a Mentimeter poll at the end of the camp to say what they liked best about the digital encounter. One pupil sums it up by saying, “of course you can learn a lot from books, but you can’t beat interaction, talking to people and meeting people.” The digital camp showed that this is not only possible online, it’s also great fun.
Digital youth exchange “Digital student camp on the subject of STEM,” in the context of the initiative PASCH – Schools: Partners of the Future Period: May 2021
