Two Manor Middle School students turned classroom curriculum into a unique opportunity that showcased their intelligence, creativity, and perseverance, and highlighted Killeen ISD’s commitment to developing skills that lead to growth and future success.
With smiles on their faces and laptops at their disposal, seventh-graders My Lu and Colton Hall recently stepped up to the podium and presented their STEM classroom coding projects at Hello World’s Demo Day in Austin.
They shared their processes using Python –– a computer programming language –– to create interactive programs that simulated real-world encounters from a user by inputting values in response to prompting questions.
Choosing subjects that were motivated by their particular interests, Lu’s computer science project was titled “Can I Take Your Order?” while Hall’s was called “Movie Trailer.”
Manor AVID teacher and site coordinator Warren Crockett said Lu and Hall shined in many ways during the experience, starting with the inception of their ideas, through the problem-solving stages and, finally, as invited speakers guiding a captivated audience through their procedures.
“Their thinking evolved as they developed more creative approaches to their projects,” and I also saw a significant boost in confidence –– they went from being somewhat reserved to exceeding expectations in both their work and public speaking,” Crockett said, noting that Hello World CS is a learning platform used within KISD. “Their communication skills improved as they explained their projects clearly and confidently.”
Lu said the opportunity to present her finished product provided valuable experience in public speaking and that it was an honor to represent Manor.
“I felt proud of myself for getting that opportunity to help Manor in a positive way,” she said.
Hall said there were some nerves about addressing a full room –– which included Manor classmates –– but that he quickly “learned to speak up and improvise when I didn’t know what to say.”
“I felt proud because I represented not only my school but Killeen as a whole,” he added.
Completing the projects wasn’t easy. Steps often required teamwork and some outside-the-box thinking. As with most endeavors in life, there were a few snags along the way. Crockett said, Lu and Hall handled the hiccups in stride.
“A challenge I faced was finding and fixing the bugs in my code,” Lu said. “It was hard to find because even an extra space or missing a quotation could cause an error. I solved it by asking for help from my teacher and my friends.”
Hall faced similar obstacles.
“The code wasn't working for two days before I had to turn it in, but then I found the part that was not working and fixed it,” he said.
All that hard work certainly paid off and will continue to pay dividends.
“This opportunity reflected a learning environment that prepares students for high levels of academic achievement and future success. It also highlighted our focus on developing skills needed in growing career fields, especially in STEM,” Crockett said. “We are cultivating academic leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and future professionals equipped with critical, real-world skills.”