Win $500 Ozobot prize pack for your library with OzoFarm game

Farming for the future

Technology is changing the way we farm. Cows are milked in robotic rotary milking dairies. Drones are herding and surveying cattle from the skies. Driverless machines are tending crops.

It is not hard to imagine robots being involved with all stages of crop farming – from planting, fertilisation, spraying, weeding and monitoring, to harvesting, packing and transportation.

Coding and robotics will be central to farmers of the future. By learning the language of programming, farmers can create the solutions needed for 21st century farms.

Digital farming skills are particularly important in Queensland, the state with the highest proportion of agricultural land (79%) of all the states and territories in Australia (ABS, 2012).

In 2012, Queensland helped Australia produce 93% of the total volume of food consumed in the nation, as well as contributed to the 60% of Australian produce exported, helping to feed some 40 million people outside Australia each day (ABS, 2012).

Queensland’s major contribution to agriculture has prompted State Library of Queensland to create a game and invitepublic libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres to learn coding, and support the development of programming skills using the OzoFarm game.

First, we want you to play theOzoFarmgame; then, we want you to make it better!

For your participation, the library voted to have developed the best new OzoFarm gamewill win anOzobot prize pack (valued at over $500), courtesy of Education Technology Specialists.

How do I make OzoFarm better?

SLQ has developed some ideas below to get you started on your own OzoFarm game. How you improve on, or develop your own, OzoFarm game is limited only by your imagination.

  • Think about the different types of farming. You are not limited to crop farming. In Queensland, you will find crops such as sugar cane, wheat, sorghum, lucerne, soybeans, fruits and vegetables; as well as beef cattle, goat, deer and fish farms; flower growers; apiarists (bee keepers); and more.
  • Use the colour code reference chart to its full extent. You are not limited to the spin code, and other codes contained within the game playing cards.
  • Consider your game playing field. Can you extend your game across multiple playing fields? Or does it require a playing field at all? Is the ocean your playing field?
  • Props and costumes make great additions to Ozobot play. We’ve added game playing cards to our game – what will you add to your game?
  • Consider the role of the Ozobots in your game. Are your Ozobots being used as players in the game; are they taking the place of animals or machinery; or, are they something else entirely?
  • Invite a local farmer to give a talk about robotics in farming and use these ideas to develop a realistic game setting and story.

Remember to photograph and record your OzoFarm fun and games, and share them with State Library of Queensland on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using #OzoFarm

How to enter

Entries must include:

  • Library name and contact person, phone and email
  • Name/s and age/s of game producer/s
  • A maximum of 250 words explaining the rationale of your game
  • Easy to follow how to play instructions
  • Any required game pieces, such as playing board/s, playing cards, props, costumes etc (excluding Ozobots, markers and the contents of the Ozobot kit)

Optional:

  • A short video explaining your game and/ or showing it being played
  • Entries must be emailed to , or posted to Regional Partnerships, State Library of Queensland, PO Box 3488, South Brisbane Q 4101.
  • Entries close 31 January 2017

Conditions of entry

  • Multiple entries per library accepted.
  • Anyone of any age can be involved.
  • The prize will be awarded to the entry the judges consider to be most innovative and functional for a library or school setting (non-age specific).
  • The judging panel will comprise representatives from State Library of Queenslandand Educational Technology Specialists.
  • The winning library will receive an Ozobotprize pack to the value of $500.
  • Competition entrants grant State Library of Queensland permission to share their game through Public Libraries Connect channels, including website, newsletter and social media.

If you have questions about the OzoFarm competition, contact the Regional Partnerships team on 3840 7539 or .

For more on Ozobots, visit Public Libraries Connect

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