Whether we admit it or not, each of us is competitive. Some try to stand out from their peers, and some other try to put a dent to the world. Or at least they try to leave a strong mark in their local community or in their country. Healthy competitiveness is the driving force of all progress in the world, but feeling competitive isn’t always about winning the competition but climbing a ladder which will get you in a higher position in the future.
This is the story of third place winning school in the 3rd Coding Challenge in Albania, programming with micro:bit devices. Students Kevin Kolleshi and Labela Taullau created a project called "Micro:bit as thermometer" the purpose of which is to facilitate the measurement of temperatures in schools, hospitals, and broad community. This project aims to quickly measure the temperatures of several people at the same time a very useful, realistic service during the current pandemic. Unlike electronic thermometers that measure the temperature per person, the device built by these students will measure the temperature of four people simultaneously.
But, what do Kevin and Labela think about using micro:bit and how will it help them in the future? We will find it out on the following lines. Let's start with the answers from our students and then move on to the teachers' opinion.
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Do you think using micro:bits helps you with creativity and how?
Kevin Kolleshi: Yes, I think it does help me. I simply need to connect it with a computer, add some coding lines and create a device I want. In a way I feel inspired and use gaming devices less often now.
2. How did you choose this project to work on?
Kevin Kolleshi: Considering the current situation with Covid-19 pandemic our school had its own difficulties in the learning process. We come to school everyday and we have to check our temperature for fever and this procedure takes some time so we usually wait for a while until this is completed one by one for each of the school mates so we came up with the idea to fix this problem using micro:bit device in our project.
3. How was teamwork useful during the creation of the project?
Kevin Kolleshi: It was very useful because in order to create a prototype you have to firsty come up with some good ideas and my friends helped by suggesting some great ideas.
4. What will you study after the elementary school?
Kevin Kolleshi: I will study programming for sure.
5. What would you say to your peers who are considering whether to apply for the next competition?
Labela Taullau: I will help them to be winners like us.
Teachers' opinions
Do you feel that skills we are teaching children will be helpful for them in the future?
Florenc Qorri: Yes, I strongly believe that children can use their imagination to use their device for a huge range of other purposes which probably in the present are still unknown.
The role of the teacher is the most important in the classroom, but do micro:bits help?
Florenc Qorri: Well, for sure! The micro:bit helps students to think more critically and engage them in problem-solving activities
What are your impressions about working with the students on creating this project?
Eglantina Lila: At first, this project was unknown for us. We committed a lot to realise this project. We have had the opportunity to see the creative ideas of our students that in fact were very diverse.