A class act

For the upcoming London Design Biennale, which will run at Somerset House between 4 and 23 September, Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) will present an interactive exhibition of two of these leading companies, both of which have a focus on using technology to improve education.

The first is AV1 by No Isolation, which aims to connect children and young adults with long-term illnesses, or those who are undergoing lengthy hospital stays, to the classroom and their classmates through a telepresence robot. The design was the result of the learning that the social isolation felt by children with long-term illnesses could be as damaging as the illness itself. Given there are currently around 72,000 children in the UK alone who are unable to attend school because of sickness, it’s a big issue. 

Developed in collaboration with children, teachers, scientists, families and the Norwegian Cancer Society, AV1 is fitted with a camera, speaker and microphone, which allows children – through the robot – to learn alongside their peers, and maintain social contact with their friends, in the classroom and the playground. While children are in hospital, they can control the robot through an app, watch what’s happening around them through a video link, and chat to their classmates and their teachers – meaning they never miss a thing. Around 500 children across Europe are currently using AV1 to keep in touch with the lessons and friends.

The second project on show at the Norwegian Pavilion, which has been curated by DOGA alongside the Royal Norwegian Embassy, is Kahoot!, an inclusive virtual gaming platform that is used in more than 180 countries – pretty astonishing given there are only 195 in the world. With Kahoot! educators and students can create their own learning games and game show-like quizzes customised to any topic imaginable. These can be answered individually or in teams using a central screen and mobile devices or at home as single-player homework games. Students themselves can create their own games to assist their revision, and you can play against people from all across the world. 

Designed by co-founders Johan Brand and Jamie Brooker (from We Are Human) and Morten Versik, Kahoot! has been built based on research into inclusive, behavioural and learning design, so that its games allow users to learn in way that’s not only fun but easy to digest complex information. Outside of the classroom, its platform has been used to teach elderly people how to use the internet and for corporate training programmes in large worldwide businesses.

Both of these projects will be exhibited at the Norway Pavilion in an interactive exhibition that will transform part of Somerset House into a classroom and bedroom complete with iPads and headphones, allowing visitors to play Kahoot! and see the AV1 in action. Despite being very different in function and application, the two technologies are excellent examples of how Norwegian companies are combining the country’s emphasis on social inclusion with the new opportunities its tech scene can offer.