During the pandemic, many people learned new skills or started new hobbies. For example, I learned how to cook. A pair of brothers at Incarnate Word Academy, learned a skill that not only helped their fellow classmates, but could also give them a jump-start on a career. Liam and Colin have always been fascinated with how computers work and they are this week’s A+ Award recipients.
Liam and Colin had watched many hours of Youtube videos that introduced them to building and repairing computers and laptops. The opportunity for hands-on application came when the brothers participated in an afterschool technology program called “How to Build and Troubleshoot a Computer” at their elementary school, Incarnate Word Academy. In this program, the students took apart and rebuilt desktop computers. The brothers were able to learn new skills and apply what they had learned previously from the online videos. “Liam and Colin were so engaged in building computers. It was so exciting to see,” the club’s sponsor, and Incarnate Word technology teacher Mrs. Micheli told us.
Liam and Colin told us that they were surprised how simple the devices were and they were confident that they could fix some of the broken Chromebooks. They were motivated to lend a helping hand to their teachers and students. Colin focused on diagnosing and logging Chromebook issues into a spreadsheet while Liam concentrated on repairing the broken Chromebooks.
Mrs. Micheli has told us that more than 50 Chromebooks have been diagnosed and over half have been repaired and put back into service. The Tech Team continues to expand and train new members this school year. Liam is currently a ninth grader at Holy Name High School in Parma and Colin is currently a sixth grader at Incarnate Word.
This week’s A+ Award goes to Colin and Liam for being a key part of this pilot program that helps to keep their school’s Chromebooks working!
Submit your ideas for our NewsDepth A+ segment to newsdepth@ideastream.org for consideration.
