Welcome to the digital Academy Awards

The annual tradition of celebrating the Academy Awards with 8th grade English students of the Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg Gesamtschule in Göttingen took place from February 09-11 this year. However, because of the global pandemic, the location of the event had to be transferred from the traditional Y-LAB into the digital space. This was a challenge for the M.Ed students participating in the seminar „And the Oscar goes to… – taking students to Hollywood in a global simulation” and their lecturer Fabian Krengel! The incredible amount of work they put into the project was worth it, though.

Using their iPads, the 8th grade students took part in the digital Academy Awards from home, dressed as stars, fans and journalists. There, they could order a drink at the digital bar, be cast for the next blockbuster movie at the casting station, take pictures in the Photo Booth to remember the night forever, change their looks at the make-up-station, have a chat with other guests at the Meet’n’Greet or find out about the newest gossip in the Press Room – all of that in English, of course. Guided by the university students, the 8th graders had prepared film trailers, posters, podcasts or articles in class in the weeks prior to the event that were now presented to everyone. In a live voting, the participants decided on the best contribution in each category, which was then awarded with an Oscar.

A big thank you goes out to Fabian Krengel and his master’s students! It takes a lot of time and effort to adapt a project that’s already very time-consuming to a digital context. Without you all, the project wouldn’t have been as successful as it was. That’s why the English didactics department is sending out a heartfelt thank you!!!