Brookview and Maple Grove Elementary Students Participate in Technology Fairs

Brookview and Maple Grove Elementary each held Technology Fairs for students in grades 3-5 in March. Students created projects that were critiqued and graded using a rubric by guest judges. Projects with the best scores will compete at the Central Iowa Technology Fair in Ames, May 5.

At Maple Grove there were 53 students who participated, and Brookview had 62 students who participated overall. Some topics included: Anti-Bullying, Air Pollution Awareness, East Asian Elephants, GarageBand, Rescue Dogs, Paper Cuts, Save the Giant Pandas, Help Endangered Species, Brave Blue, The Cat 1000, Tik Tak the Color Sensing Robot, Hair Tie Shooter, Say No to Smoking, The Solar System and many more.

The students worked for over a month on the projects both inside and outside the classroom. Each project was critiqued on planning process, quality of content, quality of product, research, creativity and presentation.

“The intent of the technology fair was for students to showcase innovative and creative uses for technology and to have fun creating a project of their choice,” said Maple Grove Computer teacher, Carrie Dirksen.

The students were eager to present their projects to the set of judges.

“I chose Air Pollution because it’s important. Doing the research and teaching it to my classmates is really fun, and I hope everyone learns something from my project,” said Maple Grove 5th grader, Ankita Shroff.

Maple Grove projects moving on to the Central Iowa Technology Fair:

  1. Web Presence project entitled Rescue Dogs by 5th grader Sydney Berger
  2. Video project entitled Safety for Kids by 5th graders Greyson Rebel and Daniel Bieker
  3. Web Presence project entitled Keep Calm and Stop Bullying Now by 5th graders Madison Kinney and Reese Hiveley
  4. Video project entitled Put First Things First by 3rd graders Adithi Balaji and Sriya Munjuluri
  5. Programming project entitled The Cat 1000 by 4th grader Ana Bull
  6. Video project entitled Bullies by 5th graders Ariana Hammond and Katie de Souza

“I am always impressed with what the students come up with,” said Dirksen. “I always learn something new about them and their passions. It is fun to see the projects they have envisioned come to life and their absolute excitement about sharing what they have created.”

Brookview projects moving on to the Central Iowa Technology Fair:

  1. Alex Kottmeyer & Brant Kron, 4th Grade – Programmed Games in Scratch
  2. Alexis Moore, 5th Grade – Design & Publication, Technology Fair Brochure
  3. Carson Crigger & McClain Crigger, 5th Grade – Programmed a Speech Helper Game in Scratch
  4. Charlie Cross & Drew Hurlburt, 5th Grade – Programmed Arcade Games in Scratch
  5. Jessie Carter & Ella McGee, 5th Grade – Air Pollution Movie & Brochure
  6. Olivia Mills & London Witherwax, 5th Grade – The Birthday Party, Claymation Video
  7. Tasha Bhatia, 5th Grade – Bubble Sort Algorithm Program

“I was so impressed with how enthusiastically students combined their interests and passions with innovative and creative technology use,” said Brookview Computer teacher, Cindy Herren.  “The technology fair created a platform for students to collaborate, create, share and demonstrate their technology skills in a way that was personal and meaningful to them.”