Lake Bluff elementary and middle school students present at student tech conference

From playing with LEGOs and Minecraft to programming robots and learning how to code, kids these days are learning about the basics of technology and engineering, even outside of the classroom.

They’re also teaching each other what they’ve learned.

Case in point: eleven students from Lake Bluff Elementary School and four from Lake Bluff Middle School gave presentations on their favorite pieces of technology at the Students Involved with Technology Conference for kids in grades 3-12 at Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove on Saturday, Feb. 21.

The SIT conference is an annual state-wide conference that takes place at several sites throughout Illinois on the same day. The idea behind the conference is to get kids in third grade through high school excited about technology and engineering, by listening to their peers.

“[The conference] is student-led,” said Laurie Brown, the technology curriculum specialist in Lake Bluff School District 65. “It’s by kids and for kids.”

After listening to a keynote address by an adult working in the tech field — in past conferences, a person working for Google has spoken as well as an app creator — students attend sessions on any subject they’re interested in, presented by their fellow students. The subjects of the sessions range from simple technologies kids love playing with, such as LEGO sets and video games, to more complicated information, such as how to code, use slow-motion animation, or build a website.

Students in Lake Bluff schools have attended the technology conference for about five years now, Brown said, and this year, more kids than ever — 15 — signed up to give 30-minute long presentations, a daunting task for anyone, especially a 10-year-old.

“Most of the [presentations] are [on] things [the kids] had an interest in and decided to pursue it and share with the other kids,” Brown said. “Some of the [subjects] are something they’ve done in school, or a personal interest, something they’re excited about.”

But, Brown said, many of these subjects the kids presented on are not necessarily something they’ve done in school.

For Lake Bluff Elementary School fifth-graders Samantha Tomek and Gabe Guidarini and fourth-grader Paige Tomek, the tech conference was all about sharing their passions with their peers. The Leader spoke to the students while they were practicing their presentations the week before the conference on Saturday.

Sisters Samantha and Paige Tomek chose to present on LEGO Technics, LEGO sets that move. They own two LEGO Technic models, a cargo plane and a pick-up truck.

“We wanted to do it because it looked really interesting to us,” Samantha said.

“[Samantha] really likes the Technics and I really like LEGOs,” Paige added. “It’s controlled by batteries, and we’re going to bring them to the tech conference too.”

The girls added that they had other ideas for their presentation, but they thought the LEGO Technics would be the most interesting to their audience.

The students add an interactive element to their presentations too. After the Tomek girls presented on how LEGO Technic sets work, they had those who attend their session race the Technic sets to see which one was faster.

Gabe Guidarini chose to present on SimCity, a computer game that allows players to found and develop their own cities while maintaining a budget and the happiness of the city’s residents.

“It’s one of my favorite games,” Guidarini said. “It’s a good mix of education, fun, realism, a tech tool and [being] a city planner, all in one.”

Guidarini started playing SimCity when he was in kindergarten, and quickly became passionate about building cities in the game. He wanted to show other kids at the tech conference how to play the game. Guidarini has attended the conference for the past three years, but this was his first time presenting.

“I’m very excited,” he said.

Brown said the students who attend the tech conference always enjoy themselves, especially competing in the “mystery” engineering challenge that is revealed on the day of the conference.

“They have a great time. It’s very fun and exciting for the kids,” she said. “They really learn about different technologies, and they get excited about exploring technologies on their own.”

RIGHT: Fourth-grader Paige Tomek practices her speech about how LEGO Technics work on Feb. 18 before Students Involved with Technology Conference.