What if the ghost father of Hamlet, the late king, could speak to learners directly as a chatbot?<\/p>\n

We need your help to train a chatbot. To begin with this will mean that a human being (ghostbot trainer David Jackson) will mostly be speaking on behalf of the bot. But over the course of the conference, we hope that the bot will begin to pick up the slack, learning from your questions and David\u2019s answers. Of course, it could all end in tragedy. But then it is Hamlet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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$\"\"$ <\/a>Sticky Fun<\/h3>\n
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What do we mean by fun? Can we come up with definitions that will help us as educators? Can you help us make up this activity as we go along?<\/p>\n
Sticky walls have been used in workshops for a while now \u2013 but can they work as an installation to draw in ideas over time, organise them, get some answers? We don\u2019t know, but we\u2019re hoping to find out.<\/p>\n
Rosie Jones and Mark Childs from the Open University will set up a sticky wall, set up some prompts, leave everyone to it, and see if something emerges.\u00a0Add your thoughts, add some pictures, move things around, add some more ideas.\u00a0Or just be random. It\u2019s in your hands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Big Game Hunt<\/h3>\n
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Any time you feel like a break from sessions, or want to relax \/ play \/ talk, grab a partner or two and hunt out our big games on and around the Spanish Steps. You\u2019ll also find various pop-up events and activities, and always someone to talk to.<\/p>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a>Escape the conference!<\/h3>\n
Teams of sixth form students from a local school have been working with researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University to investigate and design escape room experiences, to develop problem solving skills. Four teams will be setting up their pilot escape rooms over the conference: come along with a group to reception and sign up to pit your wits against the students\u2019 puzzles!<\/p>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a>Board Game Cafe<\/h3>\n
Fan Boy Three<\/a>, a popular board game cafe in central Manchester, will be bringing a\u00a0selection of the wealth of good board games now available, and helping you play and discuss them on the central steps of the venue. Ever wondered if there\u2019s a board game that fits with your discipline? Or just want to engage a different part of your brain with a few friends? These are the people to ask. The board game cafe will be open all day on Thursday.<\/p>\n
If you have time in Manchester before or after the conference, Fan Boy Three have a new expanded venue at\u00a025 Hilton Street: pop along for a coffee and a game.<\/p>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a>How Bad are Bananas?<\/h3>\n
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Looking for alternative learning or engagement tools? Come and check out this interactive carbon footprint game that never fails to delight and educate. The\u00a0How Bad are Bananas?<\/em>\u00a0game was developed by an LSBU student inspired by the book of the same name. There\u2019s bananas to be had too if you\u2019re not already convinced to pay us a visit for some fun and learning all in one!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a>Neon Badminton \/ Fencing<\/h3>\n
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For those with a bit of energy (or aggression) to release at the end of the day, and an interest in reliving the 1980s, come and have a go at neon badminton (in the dark) on Thursday afternoon. Or try some swashbuckling with a fencing lesson on Friday morning!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a>Pirate Pete\u2019s Video Arcade<\/h3>\n
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Pirate Pete will be running a Retro Video Arcade Grotto. You can play classic video games and\/or learn how to remix them using your own characters and sound effects. Pete (aka Mick) helps families to learn game making using collaborative production processes and web technology. Find out how it works and take 5 mins to create a character for an emerging video game coded over the morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In addition to the timetabled\u00a0programme, we have a wonderful range of activities across the 48 hours of the conference. All are available and optional, for you to sample or engage in as you like at any time. Every Step You<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-453","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":495,"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/453\/revisions\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/conference.playthinklearn.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}