The Lost City of Code – reaching Atlantis – Part 2 (days 4-5 and final results)
Publication date: November 30, 2023
Hello, if you missed the first part read it here!
The completed MineAtlantis
On the 4th day of #petrikcodeweek, the crews-built Lego rescue robots – the 3D-printed submarines
between the Pillars of Heracles awaited their assistance. Meanwhile, the construction of MineAtlantis in Minecraft was completed. And teams could still earn extra points by searching for “sea eggs” daily on the Petrik website, and by completing cross-disciplinary challenges, they could secure their place in the competition. On Thursday, among the tasks, there was the also the use of artificial intelligence for enhancing artistic expression and text creation since it helped visualize the underwater world, while completing the daily “sea egg” challenge (using Bing Image Generator).
The final day
Moreover, on the 5th day of the thematic week, several teams that completed the previous day’s challenge wrote but also prepared and served Atlantis recipes for extra points. As we know, everyday actions like cooking involve coding and foster algorithmic thinking. The submarine crews spent Friday creating stop-motion videos about the discovery of Atlantis and began summarizing the week’s events in “a black box” (basically a portfolio containing the happenings and products of the week with self- and peer-evaluation and reflection). The 3D-printed submarines had arrived for the videos, and they could use the Pillars of Heracles, so everything from the previous days was set together for the final day’s task. Finally, at home, they could add their own sound and music effects to the videos.
Evaluating the projects!
The black boxes of the teams were evaluated with a maximum of 100 points with the following criteria:
- creative task solutions
- accuracy of documentation
- week’s experience report
- development of algorithmic thinking
- mentor and team cooperation
The jury consisted of instructors from all subjects, members of the school leadership and former Petrik VIP students.
The boxes can be accessed in this genially:
https://view.genial.ly/6513d588e10a6a0011947c8c/interactive-content-atlantis-the-lost-city-of-code
Summary video of days 4-5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGtE_yBiEgI&t=116s
Conclusion of the challenge
Finally, on October 25th, we concluded the 2023 EU Code Week at our school with a ceremonial closing. Compared to previous years, the competition among the 12 teams was even tighter: right up to the evaluation of the black boxes, that is, until the last minute. In addition to the podium placements, we presented awards for computer science and general knowledge.
Nothing exemplifies the ongoing mission of #petrikcodeweek, better than the fact that two non-IT specialized teams, consisting mostly of female students, were among the award recipients. The participating teams were supported by mentor students and student organizers, including several female participants.
However, what’s even more important than the ranking is how the teams felt throughout the week.
Some comments from the students:
- „Hats off to the organizers of the competition for the tremendous effort they put in; it paid off as they managed to create an excellent competition. We liked the playful tasks, and we’re glad we signed up.”
- „Participating in the week taught us that perseverance, passion, and teamwork can overcome any obstacle. There are very few things in life that can surpass the feeling of a group of people creating magic together. I will never forget this week, and I will always remember the feeling I experienced here.”
- „Due to the unusual tasks, we sometimes found ourselves outside our comfort zone, which helped improve our creative problem-solving and algorithmic thinking. We had to plan most of the tasks step by step, at least mentally, for the first time. Thanks for this unforgettable experience; we had a great time.”
- „We were in perfect balance between the worry about deadlines and the satisfaction after submitting tasks. Whatever place we achieve, I’m sure each of us will look back on the past week as an experience and a valuable lesson.”
- „At first, we had no idea what we were exactly looking for here, but as the days went by, we felt more and more comfortable. The organizers and mentors were very helpful. It was a great opportunity because we could try things we wouldn’t normally have the chance to. It was good that people like us (non-computer scientists) could solve the tasks because the focus was not on computer knowledge but on solving creative tasks, like building Atlantis.”
- „In its entirety, EU Code Week was a significant milestone in my life – the week left a huge impact on me because I feel I’ve grown a lot, both in terms of working in a team and other ‘collaborative’ skills. What stood out from my usual weekdays was that I learned a lot of new things during the week.”
This week once again could not have taken place without the mentor and organizer students, the wonderful media team documenting the events, my amazing colleagues helping and supporting me throughout the weeks leading up to this wonderful project.
Summary video of MineAtlantis and the award ceremony:
For more information, visit our school’s website: https://petrik.hu/kategoria/egyeb/projekt/
Written by: Eva Toth, leading teacher, Hungary
