EDC and DESE Lead Student Exhibition at Northeastern University Innovation Campus
On June 3, EDC, in collaboration with Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), hosted Massachusetts middle school students at the Student Computer Science (CS) Exhibition held at Northeastern University Innovation Campus in Burlington, MA. During the exhibition, which was part of EDC’s and DESE’s Programming the Acceleration of Computing Education (PACE) initiative, students demonstrated CS projects—including an app to support K–1 students’ literacy skills—that they created to address real-world problems.
Across the Commonwealth, the PACE initiative is working to meet the demand for a workforce with foundational CS skills and knowledge. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the initiative is making strides in increasing student achievement and interest in CS, elevating the quality of middle school CS teaching through training and support, and creating strong middle school CS pathways for high school and Advanced Placement Computer Science.
The PACE exhibition was a culminating event for the participating CS middle school students. Each student team presented their projects to CS industry representatives, event judges, and each other, and teams received awards in a number of categories. Students also observed a drone demo and a computer simulation of a real-life chemistry lab experience led by Northeastern University staff.
“We are so grateful to Northeastern University Innovation Campus for offering their state-of-the-art facilities to host our exhibition,” says EDC’s Joyce Malyn-Smith, PACE principal investigator. “Students were eager to share their work, meet inventors and scientists, and explore exciting real-life applications and future careers related to their CS learning.”
District teams received the following awards:
- Berlin-Boylston Regional School District: Future Innovators, Creative Team
- Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District: Future Innovators, Creative Team
- Hatfield Public Schools: Real World Impact, Problem Solvers
- Leominster Public Schools – Samoset: Real World Impact, Future Innovators
- Leominster Public Schools, Sky View: Future Innovators, Bright Ideas
- Ware Public Schools: Bright Ideas, Creative Team
We invite you to learn more about our STEM Education & Workforce Development, Elementary & Secondary Education, and Design & Development work.
