Three Years 5 and 6 teams at Roseville College have won first, second and third place at the recent SAP NSW Young ICT Explorers Competition 2015. Their dynamic Information Communication Technology (ICT) related projects, which they had diligently worked on for several months under the tutorage of Roseville’s Teaching and Learning Executive Mrs Abi Woldhuis, earned them a clean sweep of the competition.
“Groups met on a regular basis to test ideas, research possibilities and to create products that give problems a workable solution. The three prize winning projects each show how real problems can be addressed using ICT, and now have practical solutions thanks to the innovative girls aged between 10 – 12 years at Roseville College,” explains Mrs Woldhuis.
The practical solutions included a sensor timer to ascertain if sushi on a sushi train was past its safe consumption period; a solution to locate very expensive, but lost cochlear implants; and using technology that allows remote monitoring of the safety and well being of a loved one who has limited competence with technology devices.
“Students invested a lot of planning time in the research, testing, design and collaboration phases,” acknowledges Mrs Woldhuis. “While each teams’ effort is deserving of a top award, I am still impressed that all three places this year were won by teams of young women at Roseville College!”
Overall first place this year was won by Year 6 girls Sophie Allen and April Draney, who created a remote communication device (using a raspberry pi) to visually monitor a grandparent living on a remote farm periodically each day. The solution enabled alerts and messages to be communicated to a screen to prompt a reassuring response from the grandparent.
Second place was secured by individual entrant Bella Ryan, of Year 6, who developed an impressive integrated solution using satellite technology and maps to track a lost or misplaced cochlear implant. Third place was won by a Year 5 team of Rachel Barrie, Stella Phipson and Isabella Savage, who created a smart solution to expiry of plates on a sushi train: an activated pressure sensor and timer alerts a nominated mobile phone via SMS that particular items must be removed. It also populates a spreadsheet to manage the data and food turnover.
Young ICT Explorers is a non-profit competition, which has been created by SAP to encourage school students to create their best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related projects. Projects are judged by a panel of academia, industry partners and ICT professionals for their creativity, uniqueness, quality, level of difficulty and project documentation. For more information, visit www.youngictexplorers.net.au
Words: Alana Lopez