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Putting tech skills into real world applications (7 Photos)

Regional Skills Canada competition grows

Hundreds of kids were given technological challenges all day Friday, all of those challenges putting into practice the math, science, and technology knowledge and skills they’ve learned. Lego was the building block of many of the solutions.

All elementary schools from Upper Grand District School Board were signed up to participate in the Regional Skills Canada. But schools from Dufferin County were prevented from attending due to school bus cancellations in that area.

Nevertheless, there were dozens of teams filling auditoriums in Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, College Heights Secondary School, and the entire surface of the Centennial Arena. Three venues were needed to accommodate all of those participating.

As Upper Grand has become a provincial leader in technology instruction, the skills competition has grown annually, officials at the day-long event said.  Over 1,200 students from Grade 4 to 8 were involved.

There was a strong emphasis on the building of Lego robotics and mechanics, and robotics coding. Animation, television/video production, green energy, and design and build were among the many other categories.

One group of competitors was asked to solve a river navigation problem involving transporting goods across a river in Zimbabwe. Teacher facilitator and judge Andrew Cloutier said the problem is a real one in that African nation.

Students working on the problem were challenged to build a robotic machine that could carry goods efficiently across a wide river. The ‘river’ was simply a blue width of cardboard on the floor.

Another team was challenged to build a machine that could carry as many barrels of oil as possible.

“This is the first year we’ve had 100 per cent participation from all schools,” Cloutier said. “There are 90 teams signed up.”

At College Heights, another group of students programmed Lego Mindstorms to travel in straight lines and pick up cargo along the way. The task was easier said than done.

Jason Boyce is a technology lead teacher for Upper Grand. The competition, he said, is a way for kids to put what they've learned in the curriculum into real world applications. The event helps them design, build, and process those classroom skills in creative ways.

“Having fun doing it is hugely important,” Boyce said. When it’s fun, it’s simply more engaging and satisfying, he said.

Upper Grand is on the cutting edge of technology instruction, he said. Things like 3D printing, virtual reality, electronics, and robotics coding are taking off in Upper Grand schools, and attracting a lot of attentions from other school boards, he said.


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Rob O'Flanagan

About the Author: Rob O'Flanagan

Rob O’Flanagan has been a newspaper reporter, photojournalist and columnist for over twenty years. He has won numerous Ontario Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Award.
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