THAT WILL CUT IT. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO. AND THEN THE SCISSORS BECAUSE IT’S SUPER THIN. WITH THE HELP OF THEIR SCIENCE TEACHER JENNA BORMAN AT SOUTHERN MIDDLE SCHOOL, STUDENTS ARE WORKING ON A PROTOTYPE. IT’S A DESK THEY HOPE TO ATTACH TO THE WHEELCHAIR OF THEIR FELLOW STUDENT, KENNETH. BUT REMEMBER, IF THINGS GO WRONG, WE ADJUST IT. KENNETH HAS A PROGRESSIVE NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE, AND HE USES A LAPTOP AS HIS PRIMARY MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. MY NAME IS KENNETH. CURRENTLY, THE IPAD IS IN A PRETTY HEAVY CASE, AND IT HAS A STRAP THAT GOES AROUND HIS NECK AND THEN A HANDLE ON THE BACK OF IT FOR HIM TO HOLD WHEN HE’S SEATED. IT KIND OF JUST LAYS IN HIS LAP, SO IT’S NOT REALLY VERY EASY FOR HIM TO USE. KENNETH ALWAYS HAS TO HOLD HIS IPAD, AND THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO HELP HIM, LIKE JUST SET IT THERE SO HIS HANDS ARE FREE. WHAT STARTED OFF AS AN ENGINEERING AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM HAS TURNED INTO AN AWARD WINNING IDEA. THEY RECENTLY WON A STATEWIDE STEM BASED COMPETITION BY SAMSUNG CALLED SOLVE FOR TOMORROW, AND IT COMES WITH $12,000 WORTH OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE SCHOOL. WE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST LIKE AN IDEA FOR KENNY. AND THEN WE WON. SO IT WAS LIKE, WOW, THIS WHOLE PROJECT IS REALLY TEACHING US ABOUT HOW LIKE TO WORK TOGETHER AND HOW WE CAN HELP OTHER PEOPLE AND NOT JUST US. I LEARNED HOW TO WORK WITH OTHERS IN A LOT OF TEAMWORK, SO THAT WE COULD MAKE THIS PROJECT THE BEST IT COULD BE. KENNY, CAN WE TRY THIS OUT? THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE GIRLS ARE SEEING IF THE LAPTOP WILL ATTACH TO KENNY’S WHEELCHAIR TOO LONG. THAT’S OKAY. IT DIDN’T FIT, BUT THAT’S OKAY. THE GIRLS WILL KEEP TRYING. THEY HAVE UNTIL NEXT MONTH TO ENTER THEIR FINAL PROTOTYPE IN SAMSUNG’S NATIONAL COMPETITION. WE’RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO LIKE, HOW? LIKE WE CAN SEE LIKE KENNY AND LIKE, SEE HIM. LIKE USING IT, LIKE ALL OF OUR WORK INTO IT.
Students win $12K technology prize in statewide competition by helping classmate
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Updated: 8:46 AM CST Feb 23, 2025
Some middle school students in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, are trying to solve a problem for one of their peers who uses a wheelchair. By doing so, they won a major award for their school and qualified for a nationwide competition. Southern Middle School students and their science teacher, Jenna Borman, are working on a prototype desk that they hope to attach to the wheelchair of their classmate Kenneth, who has a progressive neurological disease and uses a laptop as his primary means of communication."Currently, the iPad is in a pretty heavy case, and it has a, a strap that goes around his neck and a handle on the back of it for him to hold. When he's seated, it kind of just lays in his lap. So it's not really very easy for him to use," Borman said."Kenneth always has to, like, hold his iPad, and this project is going to help him, like, just set it there so his hands are free," said Julia Baker, a classmate.What started as an engineering after-school program has turned into an award-winning idea. The students recently won a statewide science, technology, engineering and math competition by Samsung called "Solve for Tomorrow," which came with $12,000 worth of technology for the school."We thought it was just, like, an idea for Kenny, and then we won. So, it was like, wow," said Avery Willet, a classmate."This whole project is really teaching us about how, like, to work together and how we can help other people and not just us," said classmate Everleigh Finnelle."I learned how to work with others and a lot of teamwork so that we could make this project the best it could be," said Haley Brown, another classmate.The team is working on the prototype and making adjustments so it works perfectly for Kenneth. The final design is not due for the national competition until next month. Finnelle said that the team is mainly looking forward to seeing Kenneth use the desk it builds. For more information on the team's progress at the upcoming national competition, visit the following website.
LOTHIAN, Md. — Some middle school students in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, are trying to solve a problem for one of their peers who uses a wheelchair. By doing so, they won a major award for their school and qualified for a nationwide competition.
Southern Middle School students and their science teacher, Jenna Borman, are working on a prototype desk that they hope to attach to the wheelchair of their classmate Kenneth, who has a progressive neurological disease and uses a laptop as his primary means of communication.
"Currently, the iPad is in a pretty heavy case, and it has a, a strap that goes around his neck and a handle on the back of it for him to hold. When he's seated, it kind of just lays in his lap. So it's not really very easy for him to use," Borman said.
"Kenneth always has to, like, hold his iPad, and this project is going to help him, like, just set it there so his hands are free," said Julia Baker, a classmate.
What started as an engineering after-school program has turned into an award-winning idea. The students recently won a statewide science, technology, engineering and math competition by Samsung called "," which came with $12,000 worth of technology for the school.
"We thought it was just, like, an idea for Kenny, and then we won. So, it was like, wow," said Avery Willet, a classmate.
"This whole project is really teaching us about how, like, to work together and how we can help other people and not just us," said classmate Everleigh Finnelle.
"I learned how to work with others and a lot of teamwork so that we could make this project the best it could be," said Haley Brown, another classmate.
The team is working on the prototype and making adjustments so it works perfectly for Kenneth. The final design is not due for the national competition until next month.
Finnelle said that the team is mainly looking forward to seeing Kenneth use the desk it builds.
For more information on the team's progress at the upcoming national competition, visit the following .
