Santa Margarita Catholic High School’s Borchard Library hosted Santa Margarita’s first Teen Tech Week earlier this month with technology demonstrations during student lunches and after school.
Santa Margarita’s Teen Tech Week was started in accordance with the Young Adult Library Services Association campaign that in early March launched the event at school libraries throughout the U.S. This year’s campaign for Teen Tech Week, “Be the Source of Change,” encouraged teens to take advantage of all the great digital resources offered through libraries in order to make a positive change in their lives and communities.
The three days of Santa Margarita’s Teen Tech Week each featured a different theme. Monday’s demonstrations featured the award winning SMCHS Robotics team, SMbly Required and the Beam Rolling Robot provided by Suitable Technology. MUN Teacher John Remmell connected on the Beam Rolling Robot to instruct one of his classes from an MUN conference in China. The robot displayed Remmell’s face on a 17-inch screen and allowed him to roll across his classroom and answer students’ questions. SMCHS alumnus Jack Jennison (’15) also connected through the robot from his dorm room at Texas Christian University. Jack rolled through the SMCHS lunch shelter and encouraged students to participate in Teen Tech Week events.
Tuesday’s demos featured the theme of emerging technology and included a 3-D printer demonstration of a construction of a prosthetic hand. Wednesday’s theme featured drones and virtual reality and included student drone simulations by the SMCHS Drone Club and the opportunity for students to test out virtual reality sets provided by Intel and GST. Students wore virtual reality goggles to complete certain tasks.
It was gratifying to see students engage in two months of planning to prepare for the events that we had during Teen Tech Week,” said Library Assistant Maricar Laudato. “It was great to see how students appreciated the idea that technology can not only be fun but can also impact lives in a meaningful way.”