BJHS Students Chosen to Present at Student Technology Showcase at State Capitol
Three students from Bedford Junior High School were chosen to participate in the 21st annual AT&T/MACUL Student Technology Showcase and to highlight the work they are doing with technology in their classroom: Owen S., Sophya C. and Ryan S.
Presented by the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL), and underwritten by AT&T, the 2022 Student Technology Showcase featured demonstrations from students representing nearly 25 schools across Michigan. The Lansing showcase was held in the state Capitol’s new Heritage Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 7, giving students opportunities to demonstrate and display technology projects they have created for state lawmakers, elected officials, and other visitors.
All 7th-grade students at Bedford Junior High School take a 9-week course in Computer Science where they learn the problem-solving process, code a website using HTML and CSS, and create an idea for an app to solve a real-world problem. All 8th-grade students at Bedford Junior High School take a 9-week course in Computer Science where they learn JavaScript to program interactive animations and video games. Students also have the option to take an all-year Computer Science elective where they learn about jobs in Cybersecurity, Cryptography, Web Design, Data and Society, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and Physical Computing with the Adafruit Circuit Board.
Jennifer Hemry, a 7th and 8th-grade Computer Science teacher at BJHS, trained during the summer for the past few years through Code.org, Cyber.org, and GenCyber to teach the curriculum. “Our students were excited to demonstrate their hands-on technology-based learning at the Student Technology Showcase,” said Mrs. Hemry. “Incorporating technology into how our students learn has been a game-changer that has opened up their minds to new opportunities as they learn.”
Said David Lewis, president of AT&T Michigan: “Michigan youth are the leaders of tomorrow and watching them use technology to expand their learning continues to amaze us every year. AT&T is proud to continue sponsoring this event and teaching us about the amazing things technology is helping them learn at school.”
“Every year, the projects students bring to the Capitol for the Student Technology Showcase exceed our expectations,” said Mark Smith, MACUL executive director.