High School Students To Develop Assistive Technology

The 2010-2011 National Engineering Design Challenge is now in its third round as teams plan their concluding presentations for the finals to be held February 17^th-18^th in Washington, D.C.. 

Held by the Junior Engineering Technical Society, the NEDC is an annual design competition in which students, in grades 9-12, put their creativity and problem-solving skills to use and create a workplace assistive technology device for a person with a disability. 

In this cross-curricular competition, students discover engineering through real-world applications that impact people in their community and change lives. 

The problem statement for this year’s competition is to “design an assistive technology device that enables a person with a disability to improve their job performance, or allow them to obtain a job that they previously were unable to access.” 

Teams first registered for the NEDC back on September 1, 2010. After five long months of teams developing, testing and then presenting on their new assistive technology device, five finalists have been chosen to move onto Washington. 

The top five scoring Round II teams advance to Round III: The NEDC National Finals. These top five teams will give a fifteen minute presentation before a panel of judges and live audience. Presentations will focus on device design, research, function, safety, marketability, construction, testing and presentation. 

This year’s finalists include:

Bishop Kelly High School, Boise, ID - The MagWrite

  

Bollman Technical Education Center, Thornton CO  - The P.A.L.

 

Bollman Technical Education Center, Thornton CO - The  A.L.M.S. 

   

 Gulliver Preparatory School,  Pinecrest, FL with the H.O.L.D.

Hotchkiss High School, Hotchkiss, CO - The Caboose

   

For additional information about JETS, NEDC or the assistive technology devices developed, visit the JETS website here! 

Good luck finalists!

 

Comments

[James]

I appreciate you for this work!!!

That's very good way to encourage the students to participate in the different projects. In this way students will use their hidden abilities in a very nice manner. This thing will enhance the students learning skills. Such a students will bring a lot of changes in their professional career.

Thanks for sharing!!!!!!