Northern California may have the Silicon Valley, but SoCal has the Grace Miller Tech Club, now numbering about 63 fourth and fifth graders. On June 3, the young wizards hosted a tech showcase, where parents and the greater community were treated to PowerPoint slideshows, electronics quizzes, videos and other digital displays.
“Our students are more confident in using technology for homework, helping teachers troubleshoot the technology in their classroom and in other rooms, and they have shown tremendous growth in self confidence,” said Matt Miller, a 4th grade teacher at Grace Miller who supervises the club along with his colleague April Maidens. “It is an amazing thing to look across the playground on Thursdays and see all the red t-shirts that represent our Grace Miller Tech Club.”
The GM Tech Club was established in 2007 with 37 founding members. In its fourth year, the club was ready to show off the members’ talents by hosting its first annual showcase.
“The night was amazing,” Miller said. “We had a packed room and the students were very excited. We had over 100 parents, city council members, district members, and members from the local college in La Verne attend the showcase.”
One of those giving a shout-out to the kids was Grace Miller Principal Deanne Spencer:
“Congratulations on your fabulous Tech Club Showcase!” she said. “It was very well attended and those who came, particularly the VIPs, were extremely impressed. They commented to me on the variety of the presentations, the articulate descriptions given by the students, how the students behaved, and how well they used technology.
“One man told me he wanted to hire a few of the kids for the summer to work at his office!”
“The Showcase was outstanding,” added Bonita Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Lois Klein.” Not just for the products the students had developed, but also for their ability to talk about their product, the need for it and why they included what they did.”
Silicon Valley, take notice!
Story filed June 15, 2010