Students from three Lee’s Summit R-7 schools recently participated in the Think Big SensED Internet of Things (IofT) Challenge, held March 3 in Kansas City. Teams participating were from Summit Technology Academy, Bernard Campbell Middle School and Summit Lakes Middle School. The event was the inaugural student pilot and included hundreds of students, teachers and Think Big member companies.
A team from Summit Technology Academy called Stressbusters won first place in the high-school division. Students on the team are Carly Troupe, Lee’s Summit High School; Mitchell West, Lee’s Summit West High School; Samantha Fort, LSHS; and Jackson Stone, LSHS.
Summit Tech’s team MediClock won second place and included Michael Miller of Pleasant Hill High School. Summit Tech’s DIY Home Automation won third and included the following students: Kevin McMilian, LSWHS; Travis Whiteman, LSHS; Cody Dement, LSWHS; Brittany Wagner, Lone Jack High School; Christian Greeff, LSWHS.
In the fall of 2015, Think Big and Kansas City Social Innovation Center (KCSIC), with help from Cisco and the University of Central Missouri, launched SensED – a project-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education program for middle and high school students. The program was adopted in three Lee’s Summit R-7 schools by 10 educators with over 200 students participating. Since then, students have formed into 35 project teams to design and develop concepts that use sensors and data to solve a real problem they found at school, at home or in their community.