POWAY: Second-graders win sci-tech competition

Proposed device would help deaf, mute to communicate


A team of four second-grade students from Willow Grove Elementary School in Poway was named the regional winner Tuesday in the annual Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision science and technology competition.

Jessica Jiang, Jordan Sider, Ryan Ulmer and Ariana Williams were honored in a special ceremony for their concept of a sign language interpreter that would allow the deaf and mute to create audible words using a system of electrodes and loudspeakers.

The arrangement would work by connecting 10 wires to two computerized rings placed on the user's middle fingers. Motion sensors send impulses that are registered by a processor that understands sign language and then relayed to a speaker allowing back-and-forth communication.

The team from Willow Grove was selected as one of 24 regional winning teams from a field of 4,550 entries. A total of 13,947 students throughout North America took part in this year's competition. According to a contest official, ExploraVision is the largest K-12 science and technology competition in the world. More than 245,000 students have participated since the annual program began in 1992.

Each member received an award and the team was given a laptop computer and camcorder to use in creating a Web site to showcase their project. The group will move on to compete at the national level, where they will vie for a $10,000 savings bond. Winners will be named in June at an award gala in Washington, D.C., and will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the event along with their parents and coaches.

Winning coach Stacey Lamb said it was a lot of work, but the sense of accomplishment the kids felt at the end of the project was a huge payoff.

Lamb has been an elementary school teacher in San Diego for 15 years.

She pointed out that the problem-solving, research and teamwork required to complete the project reinforces everything the kids are taught in school.

"Never underestimate your kids," Lamb said. "Give them the opportunity to reach for the stars and they will."

"If you recognize quality educators and get them the resources that they need, magical things will happen in the classroom," said Cindy De Clercq, Willow Grove's principal.

De Clercq pointed to the district's cultural proficiency program as a key element in the team's choice for their project. She said that after visiting a special needs classroom, the team developed the idea for a sign language interpreter.

She added that the school is one of the Poway Unified School District's newest, having been built two years ago, and that each classroom is equipped with the best in technology.

For more information on the competition, go to www.exploravision.com.


