Maestros compose winning BlackBerry app - deCarteret College students cop technology award
Published:Saturday | January 28, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Dave Lindo, Gleaner Writer
MANDEVILLE, Manchester:
THE 'MAESTROS' of deCarteret College are the toast of the parish of Manchester after winning the BlackBerry Developers competition and more recently, the Technology Award, which they received from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
The Maestros comprises upper sixth-form students Dwayne Milford, Darren Lindo, Jason Baker, and Leon-Neil Nash. They named themselves the Maestros because of their love of music.
The BlackBerry competition was put on by the Ministry of Education in conjunction with Research in Motion, makers of BlackBerry smartphones.
The competition had three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The secondary and tertiary categories required competitors to establish educationally based BlackBerry applications or programmes.
Lessons
The students were guided by their teacher, Astley Fletcher, who teaches chemistry at the sixth-form level at deCarteret College. Fletcher explained: "The boys started by setting up a music application that teaches somebody to play the piano. That music application involves a piano keyboard and music theory up to grade-one level. They also developed a website that had extra information for the lesson."
The Maestros also developed a chemistry lesson at the third-form level. "It (lesson) involves a periodic table, which, when you touch the elements, you get all the information you need on that particular element," Fletcher disclosed. "It had some basic information on atomic structure. The way the thing is designed you could add other subjects to the ones that are offered. It had audio also in that all lessons can be listened to and read on the BlackBerry," he added.
After winning the secondary category, the Maestros went on to win the overall competition, defeating their secondary counterparts as well as tertiary institutions.
Explaining how they got involved in the competition, team captain Dwayne Milford said: "I was informed by my mother, who saw the competition being advertised. She knew that all four of us, who have been best friends for a long time, are interested in technology, so she encouraged us to enter."
What was interesting about the students winning the competition was that there is a ban on the use of mobile phones at deCarteret College. No member of the team owned a BlackBerry up to the time of the competition. However, they didn't let this be a hindrance and worked hard at researching their information and setting up the application for the competition.
Principal, Millard McLeod, was pleased with his boys for winning the competition. "Despite having a ban on cellphones, we still encourage our students to be technologically savvy and advanced. I was very pleased when I got the information that they actually won, beating institutions like Campion and NCU."
McLeod added, "We have always advanced the use of technology, both in teaching and learning, because we believe we should use technology as it unfolds; we can't afford to be left behind."
Team member Darren Lindo said they were confident going into the competition. "Of course, we were confident. We put our all into a lot of sleepless nights. We were confident in what we put out and just hoped for the best."
Nash added, "We were speechless, ecstatic, and overwhelmed when we won, especially beating tertiary institutions."
PHOTOS BY DAVE LINDO