CREATIVITY & INNOVATION AT PICKERING COLLEGE
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 2022
The Language of Innovation John Perry, Grade 7, clearly remembers the day he was introduced to coding. He was eight years old and visiting a friend when he wandered by his friend’s brother’s room where he saw endless lines of code running down the computer screen. He was mesmerized— and asked his friend’s brother to teach him basic Java. From there, he taught himself other traditional computer languages and new platforms as well. From this early beginning, John has built many games which are available on platforms like itch.io and Steam. In 2019, John received an invitation to Apple Park in California where he met one-on-one with senior vice president of software engineering at Apple Inc. Craig Federighi. John stayed in touch with Craig who provides him with regular feedback on his latest project, the Second Voice app. Inspired by children he has met who cannot speak, John designed an app to help them express themselves using emojis. The user selects an emoji which plays a voice that says either a corresponding word or phrase, such as “I love you.” John recorded both male and female voices so that users could have choice. He is currently in talks with Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital to distribute his app to children who would benefit from it.
Taking Action to Ease Hunger in our Community A table laden with food items located at a main intersection in Newmarket seemed strangely out of place. When Grade 6 student Alexis Youell spotted it while enroute from an appointment, she wanted to find out what it was all about. The sign on the table said, “Free Food, Take Only What You Need” and included contact information for the Full Table Project.
Exploration Begins with Curiosity Grade 11 student Ryan Francis has always had an interest in new technologies, following carefully what is happening in the field of innovation. His curiosity motivates him to experiment with and learn more about drones and remote cars. Ryan got his first drone when he was 10 years old. Initially he thought about starting a real estate photography business but when that did not get off the ground, he instead began honing his drone photography skills. On family trips, Ryan secures the necessary permits to use his drone to take interesting photos of the sites and landscapes, which he posts in a private portfolio. Ryan’s other passion is working on and racing his remote car. Initially purchased as a stock car, he has since replaced all of the parts, updating it frequently to transition it from a drag car to a drift car. In the winter, the car becomes an SUV or an off-road vehicle. At school, Ryan is sharpening his filmmaking and production skills through the communications technology course. In class, he is learning the advanced skills of Adobe Illustrator and Premiere Pro editing software to display different media. Ryan is integrating these skills into two interesting projects—he is producing a documentary on the gaming community to counteract the stereotypes associated with gamers, and he is taking a unit from another class that he found to be unengaging and redesigning it using media to enhance the engagement factor. For this class assignment Ryan plans to incorporate augmented reality. Ryan attributes his continued growth and interest in technology to both the computer science and communications technology courses at Pickering College. He finds that the focus on critical thinking, application and making connections in this discipline gives him a profound sense of accomplishment.
Alexis was familiar with food insecurity as it was part of her My Key Idea project in Grade 5 and saw an opportunity to take action on an important issue in our community. Following a budget set by her parents, Alexis began to regularly bring grocery items to the table such as water and canned goods. She would also sort the food, take away any garbage, and wipe down the table. According to Alexis, it works on an honour system. “Nobody knows how much you need more than yourself.” Alexis says the best part of being at school is the time with your friends. She learns something new every day through classes and her peers and credits the Grade 5 Speaking Club for building her confidence and helping her to become a stronger speaker.
Entrepreneurial Spirit Runs in the Family Grade 4 student Maya Roy-DiClemente says that research is a key skill for an entrepreneur. She attributes her keen research skills to her success in the business she runs with her two brothers, including Evan Roy-DiClemente in Grade 10. Their company, Cheshire Games and Gifts, was inspired by their grandfather who spoke about traditional wooden games that are no longer available in stores. They thought it would be fun to try to make a game for him and their gift was a huge success! They then decided to make and sell wooden games to the public, soon expanding to other gifts, including hair scrunchies and soap. Maya makes most of the soaps herself and came up with the idea of placing a toy inside to encourage children to wash their hands. Evan’s role in the company is the design and creation of the wooden products. His process involves taking a new idea, coming up with the design, programming it into the laser cutter program and cutting the final product. His advice to new entrepreneurs is to be a people person. He says polishing his social skills have helped him to make business connections which have directly impacted the company’s overall sales and growth. The siblings recently received the Youth Entrepreneurial Spirit Award at the East Gwillimbury Chamber of Commerce Business Awards gala for their entrepreneurialism.
John likes to use his coding experience for his Global Leadership Program projects as well. For example, last year when he worked on a project to protect lionfish, he created a Java program to display a lionfish in console game style, which would include facts about lionfish when users hit certain buttons. In the future, John hopes to work in a field that integrates therapy and technology, like his app Second Voice, or in a big four game development studio.
