A team of New Westminster Secondary School students took top honours at the B.C. Game of Apps championship over the weekend.
Team EcoWorld, featuring Jia Yi Jiao, Zachary Beckett and Paul Obernolte, emerged on top after the provincial championships held online Saturday.
They were one of two NWSS teams to qualify for the B.C. finals after earning their place at a regional competition the weekend before.
Through Game of Apps, professional designers and developers working in the tech industry serve as mentors and walk high school students through the process of building an app from scratch. Students learn about and use the same tools, technologies and processes being used in the tech industry, and they work in teams to build their own apps.
“Students get so much from participating,” said Sabine Décamp, technology facilitator for the New West school district. “They learn all the skills required to build an app in a simulated work environment, including coding, but also the importance of creativity, design, empathy, usability, teamwork, decision making and project management.”
The NWSS teams put those skills to work in creating three different apps.
EcoWorld, which captured Best Overall App honours at the regionals to qualify for the B.C. finals, is an app designed to help fight climate change.
Another local team also competed in the B.C. finals. NWSS students Angelica Chua and Jayee Zheng teamed up with Burnaby North’s Kerry Wang, Clinton Weng, James Zhong and Richard You to develop RecyclerView, which helps diabetics track and manage their lifestyle. It earned the Best Developed App title at the regional event to make it to the provincial championships.
At the regional championship, Jayee Zheng also won the individual award for Outstanding Designer, while Paul Obernolte took the award for Outstanding Developer.
A third team, consisting of Grade 9 students, also competed at the regional event with their mindfulness app to address mental health. That included students Alex Ross, Alton Tran, Alyssa Calanog, Joy Li, Michelle Nguyen and William Chen.
Décamp noted the Game of Apps program is a great way for students to find out if a career in tech is for them and, if so, what aspect they like – development, design or project management.
“In the process, students learn about themselves and how to work in a team, and they build self-esteem in an enriching environment,” she said.
School board chair Anita Ansari gave kudos to the students during the May 26 board meeting.
She noted the championships were the culmination of “weeks and weeks” of work for the students, and she noted the fact that, even with only three teams involved, NWSS was able to send two to the provincials.
“We continue to be the little district that shows up,” she said.
You can find out more or watch the YouTube videos of the regional and provincial events at www.gameofapps.org.
