Day 180 - AI Chatbot Presentation at ISTE 2018 - Mr. Wong - BHS Help Desk

This post first appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog

This past semester, the BHS Help Desk and Ms. Tyrrell’s Exploring Computer Science classes were fortunate to be selected by ISTE (The International Society for Technology in Education) to pilot an AI (Artificial Intelligence) Chatbot curriculum. This pilot was made possible through ISTE’s partnership with General Motors. We are doing a poster session at the ISTE 2018 conference, and our Tuesday, June 26, the session is entitled, “Shared Solutions in K-12: Artificial Intelligence Using Chat Bots.” My student Gati Aher will also be presenting with us at ISTE. During the conference, there are many other sessions on AI, including “Artificial Intelligence Goes to School” which will give an overview of the program, and “Empowering Students to Develop Artificial Intelligence for Automation and K-12 Solutions.”

This pilot opened up a vast world which we had some understanding of, but we didn’t really know the technology underpinning chatbots. In my class, we looked at chatbots before including ELIZA (an AI, Rogerian psychotherapist) which was created in the 60’s. I first learned about ELIZA when I had it on my PowerBook back in the 90’s. That PowerBook actually still works, incidentally, and I’ve shown ELIZA to the students along with some very dated voice synthesis. One of my students Shawn Scott showed me that Microsoft has a Virtual Agent used on its support site. Mel Thibodeau showed me Replika which is an AI friend whom you can install on your smartphone.

The pilot also introduced us to the world of AWS (Amazon Web Services). Everyone knows Amazon as a commerce company, but not nearly as many people know Amazon’s reach and influence with the web. The pilot curriculum showed us how to use Amazon Lex and Amazon Lambda. Lex is essentially what powers Amazon’s Alexa assistant, and it can be used to create chatbots. Lambda allows you to run external code from Amazon’s servers, and it gave our chatbots more functionality. There are any more tools in AWS, and our students will continue to learn more about its tools. If schools are interested, they can sign up for AWS Educate.

Our materials for ISTE 2018 can be found here. While we learned a lot in our month or so working with the pilot curriculum, we believe we just scratched the surface. We will continue to work with our students and our school’s IT group and the school community to see if what we’ve done can be implemented as functional chatbots which would be used to provide basic tech support and other useful functions in our school.

Day 106 - MassCUE Grant (SOARing with Drones in Education) - Mr. Wong - BHS Help Desk

This post first appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog

I’m thrilled to announce that Burlington was recently selected for a MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) grant which we are using for drone projects in the district. The list of recipients can be found here. The theme of our grant is “SOARing with Drones in Education.” The SOAR model comes from an ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) publication called “Drones in Education: Let Your Students’ Imaginations Soar.” SOAR stands for Safety, Operation, Active Learning, and Research. You can also read more about this publication in this EdWeek blog post.


There are many opportunities for learning and collaboration with this project, and we are looking forward to working with the art, math, science, PE, BCAT and any other departments interested in seeing how drones can be used in their classrooms. We are grateful to MassCUE for selecting us, but I also must thank some other folks for sparking the Help Desk’s interest in learning more about drones. Eddie Reis whom some of you remember from his AR Sandbox work gave me a toy drone at the end of last year, and that made me decide to buy a DJI Mavic Pro and a Parrot Mambo for our class. Many thanks also to current student Mel Thibodeau (her blog can be found here) who went with me and a couple other students to the MassCUE Fall Conference and picked up a flyer with information on the grants. The entire Help Desk, various BHS faculty, IT staff, and our principal Mr. Sullivan also gave valuable input and support during the grant-writing process.


Please enjoy some footage we’ve taken this school year, as well as excerpts from our drone resources which will continue to grow. We’ll be putting up our own resources and tutorials as we learn how to SOAR with drones at Burlington High.


Drone Footage Compilation from Help Desk Student Shawn Scott:

Safety:

https://www.faa.gov/uas/

https://store.dji.com/guides/10-drone-safety-tips-safe-flight/

Operation:

http://fromwhereidrone.com/how-to-fly-a-drone-the-ultimate-guide/

Beginner’s Guide to the Mavic Pro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia5o97OY4Rw

Active Learning:

Parrot Drone activities: https://activities.parrot.com/dashboard

Coding with Tynker: https://www.tynker.com/learn-to-code/code-this-drone/

Coding with Swift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yku1oFuG-M&ab_channel=OscarAlsing

Research: 

Columbia University Article: http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/06/16/how-drones-are-advancing-scientific-research/

Science 2.0 review of a recent article on drones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou5YdovFZmY

Day 94 - Meet the 2017-2018 Second Semester Staff! - Mr. Wong - BHS Help Desk

This post first appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog

I’m excited to introduce a new group of students for second semester. We have a very diverse group of students whose interests include business, engineering, programming, and robotics. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a couple of these students this year because one of them (Gati Aher) is the CAD design leader of the Robotics Club (http://www.bhsrobotix.com), as well as the lead of the BHS Programming Club which I have been advising this school year. To be honest, I’ve learned more about programming from Gati than she has learned from me this year. Also, Shirin Bakre is the engineering lead of the BHS Robotics Club, and has been an “honorary member” of Help Desk who has taught us about robotics and tried out some of our fun Sphero Star Wars robots at the Help Desk. I’m thrilled to have them in class as well as these other outstanding students this semester. Enjoy reading their bios.

Hi, my name is Gati Aher, and I am a junior at Burlington High School. I joined the HelpDesk field study to work on the Programming Club syllabus, explore technology, and learn how to troubleshoot. I also want to help people with their technology issues because I enjoy being a helpful person. I have a strong interest in computer science and robot design, and I want to go into a career involving artificial intelligence, robotics, and making technology that makes the world a better place. My goals for the future are doing well in a MIT run Ai contest, BattleCode, and researching path finding, swarm behavior, and heuristic algorithms. Additionally, I have taught myself Java and Python, taken a class for C++, and I am the leader of Programming club, co-lead of Math League, and the CAD (Computer Aid Design) lead for the Red Devils robotics team. My other interests are art, music, science, and running, as I have taken both art and band electives at BHS, won two collab awards my sophomore year, play the piano, clarinet, bass clarinet, and oboe, taught myself chemistry my freshman year, and run cross country in the fall. I look forward to learning more and helping people in HelpDesk.

Shirin Bakre

I am currently a Senior in the graduating class of 2018. I find myself interested in robotics, and I am currently the engineering lead of our high school team the Burlington Devilbotz. It is a whole lot of fun to innovate, design, and build complex robots to complete challenges given to them. I decided to join help desk to become better acquainted with computer science. I was not really a fan of the software aspect of engineering for a long time, in fact, I spent most of my career in engineering within the mechanical and electrical fields. But I believe it is important to bring balance and learn different aspects of engineering. I want to expand my understanding, and help desk is very good at helping students learn that. In the future, I hope to pursue a career in Biomedical Engineering. I have always had an interest in the biology and chemistry fields, and robotics has been a great gateway for me into the engineering field. I am glad to be a part of the help desk and learn more about technology and how it is a part of our world. It is constantly progressing and making impacts on the world.

Hello, my name is Frankie Bonanno. I am currently a senior here at Burlington High School. I am one of the captains for the hockey team. I am also apart of the DECA club at BHS where my role is being a leader in the club. I work for the school store and go buy the candy and drinks for the store. I decided to join the help desk because our school each year is getting more and more technologically advanced. Which is useful but there are some problems students or faculty may run into and I want to be apart of helping them. In college, I plan on majoring in communications or business management. Later on in life, I want to either do something with marketing or communications. I also enjoy spending time with my friends and family. My favorite thing to do in my spare time is either play fortnite or hang with friends.

Hi, my name is Gabi Canales, and I am a sophomore in the help desk. I was interested in being part of the help desk because I like computers. Mostly all I do is watch YouTube videos and vines. I think it’s really cool and fun. I also enjoy to play soccer and basketball, which are my favorite sports. Some different careers that I’m interested in are electrical engineering, and architecture. I like engineering because both of my parents are engineers. Also, a lot of my family work in construction so I have grown up around things that had to do with architecture. Overall, I’m just really excited to be able to a part of the help desk this year.

Hello, my name is Patrick Hayes. I am currently a junior at BHS. I joined help desk to try and learn more about technology. I am not very technologically savvy and I really want that to change. In an age where technology is such an important factor in our world, I feel it is important to be familiar with it. I believe help desk awards me that opportunity. After high school, my career choice is still ambiguous. I feel as though I will end up in the business field like my parents. While in high school, I play on the varsity hockey and lacrosse teams. I love sports and the competition within them. Competition is always relevant in life and sports really encourages me to work hard and fair in everything I do. Other than sports, I am a member of student council and participate in many clubs. I am thrilled to get the opportunity to help other students around BHS while in help desk. 
My name is Quinlan Hogan and I am a senior at Burlington High School. I have decided to join Help Desk to learn more about technology and especially computers. I have a background with building computers and some different programs like, C++, Java, and basic JavaScript. Technology has always been apart of my life in a way. Technology has always made everything easier for me. I am excited to help students and teachers with issues and problems throughout the year. I feel as though Help Desk is a good way to improve my troubleshooting skills. As a student learning programming, any type of figuring out and solving problems would improve me. I have always had different ideas for pursuing a career. I have made up my mind to become a HVAC/R Technician, eventually wanting to own my own business or become a Tech Rep. Joining Help Desk could also help with my social traits learning how to lead people in the right direction or fix a problem for them just like a Technician. Outside of school I work on cars, trucks, bikes, go karts, basically anything that uses an engine.

Hi, whoever is reading this I am Cohan Houniet I am a senior at Burlington High school. I am interested in the help desk because I want to advance my skills with technology this semester and I want to help out kids in my classroom if there is anything to be done. This would help me out in college as there will be different technology related software, that I would not know how to do and with this basic skill I can improve in that area. I am excited to learn more about computers and how they are assembled. This would benefit me as I am going into pharmaceutical and majoring in chemical engineering as it would help me out because the world is progressing and uses technology more often.   

Hello, my name is Alison Illidge. I am currently a freshman at Burlington High School. Some of my interests are skiing and also snowboarding. I love to race on skis, I used to race for a group called NASTAR, which is the largest public ski race group in the world. Now I am currently part of a small freestyle snowboarding group called Gunstock Freestyle Academy and I love riding and learning with this group. I decided to join help desk because I don’t know that much about technology and I would like to learn more about it. Especially with the new chromebooks we got this year. This will also help me in my future because now most jobs require the use of technology. While learning more about technology I would also like to help others learn about technology as well to I can help them out if they need it. So far I don’t really know where I want to go career-wise yet, but I hope to find out soon and work really had to get to where I want to go. Some more interesting things about me are that I was part of the BHS Girls Cross Country team.

My name is Owen Johnson, and I am a senior at Burlington High School. This is my first year in help desk, and I joined because I enjoy working with technology and look forward to learning more about it. I am interested in learning about drones, and when I heard the help desk bought one I decided I would join. I want to go to college to become a mechanical engineer, and eventually use my degree to work with cars and the technology with them. One of my biggest passions is music. I have been playing guitar since 6th grade, and I am always listening to music whether it’s in the car or walking to class. When I’m not at school, I spend my time working at the Tuscan Kitchen or hanging out with friends. During the winter and spring I am a part of a FIRST robotics team. I work with my teammates to design and build a robot which we use to compete against other high schoolers around the world. As a part of help desk, I am looking forward to learning more about technology and the way we use it here at BHS, and to help others with their technological needs.

Marvin Jean Baptiste

(Marvin was a late addition to our class, and we will have his bio up very soon)

Hello, my name is Uzair Khalifa. I am a senior at Burlington High School and I wanted to join the help desk because I have an interest in modern technology. I joined help desk because many people have problems with technology and I want to help them with these issues. I intend to further my education with a major in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems and also major in Neuropsychology.

Hi, my name is Angie Melin. I am a freshman at Burlington High School.I am very interested in technology and how it all works. Overall I find technology extremely important for everybody to know, given It is reforming society. I joined the help desk because our school relies on technology. Not knowing how to use it properly is a huge disadvantage. Also, I want to be able to help people fix their devices (whatever those may be) whether inside of school or outside. For my career, even though ‘i’m young, I’m pretty set on becoming a teacher. Since technology is growing do vastly, by the time I’m an adult, I’m sure schools will be extremely tech-savvy. Something to know about me is I’m on JV soccer and varsity track and field. I’m apart of the Pals club and the Italian club. Also, I volunteer to coach U-6 (5 and 6 year old) soccer players for the town. My family and I also foster dogs in our free time.

Hello, my name is Tej Patel. I am in my final year at Burlington High School. I am interested in technology because it makes daily life easier. Connecting with friends, playing video games, watching YouTube, or doing research would not be nearly as easy as it is without technology. I decided to join Help Desk because I think it will teach me how to problem solve small problems that would otherwise cost a lot of money. Later in life, my biggest interests are owning hotels and motels, day trading stocks, and investing in real-estate. Also, I have a big interest in cars which relates to technology because of how much technology is needed to make them run as well as they do today.

My name is Anthony Russo, and I am 18 years old. I am a senior at Burlington High School class of ‘18. I am interested in technology and the cool things it can do. Drones are cool, and self-driving cars sound great. I decided to join the help desk, because I’m good at fixing problems people have with their devices, and want to become better. For a career, I would like to do something in business, most likely marketing. Currently, I am a lifeguard in the summer, and a maintenance worker otherwise. I will be attending Merrimack College next year, majoring in business management. I love cannolis, and chocolate covered pretzels. I have a football that was signed by Stephen Curry. My friends often call me by my nickname, “Finley”. My second cousin, Felicio lives in Madagascar. I’m a savage when it comes to Fortnite, and I’ll cook anyone in 2k.

Day 61 - Computer Science Education Week (Hour of Code) 12/4-12/8/17 - LeRoy Wong - BHS Help Desk

This post first appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog 

Mrs. Tyrrell, the Help Desk Students, and I have been very busy preparing for Computer Science Education Week or Hour of Code at the High School. Mrs. Tyrrell worked very hard contacting the companies who will be coming, and Charlie Paras did an excellent job creating our flyer and logo. We’re looking forward to an exciting week of coding!

Help Desk Demos:

Coding

https://code.org

https://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/

https://www.codecademy.com/

https://scratch.mit.edu/

Minicomputers and Electronics

https://www.arduino.cc/

https://www.raspberrypi.org/

https://makeymakey.com/

Robots, drones and coding

https://www.sphero.com/education

https://www.tynker.com/blog/articles/ideas-and-tips/coding-at-school/programming-parrot-drones-with-tynker/

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/swift-playgrounds-expands-coding-education-to-robots-drones-and-musical-instruments/

http://www.rethinkrobotics.com/baxter/

Augmented Reality Sandbox

https://arsandbox.ucdavis.edu/

Animation and gaming demos

https://www.sumopaint.com/home/

https://libgdx.badlogicgames.com/

Day 50 - Reflections on the MassCUE Conference - Mr. Wong - BHS Help Desk

This post first appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog

We were honored to present at the MassCUE (Computer Using Educators) Conference on October 25th at Gillette Stadium. Anusha Datar from the Class of 2017 joined seniors Nirmal Patel and Melanie Thibodeau to demonstrate some of the projects we have worked on during the past year. Unfortunately, Eddie Reis from the Class of 2017 could not make it to show his AR Sandbox project, but he was with us in spirit. The students did an amazing job, and here are some photos and their reflections of the event.

Photos from MassCUE

Nirmal’s reflection (scroll towards the bottom)

Melanie’s reflection (scroll towards the bottom)

Anusha’s reflection:

My name is Anusha Datar. I was one of the many help desk senior interns last spring, and I currently am studying electrical and computer engineering at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (we generally just call it Olin), which is a really small school in Needham, MA that focuses really heavily on providing an innovative engineering education experience: most of our courses are project-based and at least partially experimental. I recently went to the MassCUE Conference to display the work I did over the course of my internship. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with Burlington students, faculty, and staff and to speak to individuals involved in the education community.

The conference was a huge production, with endless tables full of vendors, nonprofits, and schools and back-to-back seminars. Even through the buzzword-saturated taglines and tweets, it was clear that most educators attending were determined to incorporate more technology into their districts’ classrooms that optimized for both student experience and outcomes. Most of the vendors advertised products which promised to improve student performance on standardized tests while promoting creative engagement, and many of the sessions focused on creating physical spaces and curricular structures where students could drive their own learning but still meet necessary benchmarks and gain valuable skills.

Listening to the educators talk about their struggles and triumphs in trying to provide an equitable and compelling student experience while ensuring that their students did learn about something makes me extremely thankful for my BHS help desk experience. My project let me explore a part of engineering I’m really interested in (particularly, embedded software), but I still could take advantage of the school’s resources and faculty. I created my own project plan very deliberately to maximize the quality of the final product and the amount of new information I learned and skills I gained, but I still had a challenging schedule of deliverables which I worked hard to meet because I knew that if I failed to meet those standards, my own learning experience would be compromised. Now that I’m at Olin, a school intentionally built on the principles of self-directed hands-on learning in context, I’m incredibly thankful that I got to have this experience of working independently on a project in the area I am passionate about while I was still in high school.

Day 10 - Meet the 2017-2018 First Semester Staff! - BHS Student Help Desk

This post originally appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog

Top left photo, 7th per. class from left to right: Mike, Cam, Roby, Paul, Kobe, Mel, Erin, Kristina. Bottom left: Sean, Shawn, Tyler. Right panel, from left to right: Ben, Cam, Dakotah, Erin, Jared, Mike, Moses, Nirmal, Roby

I hope everyone had a great summer and a great first two weeks of school. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks at the Help Desk, and I’m very excited to introduce my first semester group of Help Desk students. Charlie Paras is a late addition to the class, and I will add his bio shortly. Our returning students this semester are Bilal Afzal, Paul Barbieri, Akash Kunchum, Brendan Lucas, Vibi Wigneswaram, and Dan Xue. There are a variety of things we’ll be working on this year including helping the freshmen class and some staff members with Chromebooks, as well as working on various tutorials and projects for the school. The students who have been working on gaming will continue their work this year, and we are always looking for guest speakers who can give us some advice and guidance on anything technology-related. We’re looking forward to a great semester and year!

My name is Bilal Afzal. I am a senior and I wanted to join the Help Desk because I share an interest in technology and science. I know that by working at the Help Desk I will be helping out students and teachers with technology-related issues and helping them understand and use it to their advantage. This brings me to what I aspire to become which is a doctor. Since I was kid I knew that by being a doctor I will be able to help other people who have life-threatening or even simple problems. Some of my interests are drawing, reading, Star Wars, science, and a little philosophy. I also enjoy learning about technology and hope to learn more by working with other people and expand my knowledge.

Hello, my name is Paul Barbieri. I am currently a senior here at Burlington High School. What really interests me is sports. I play hockey and am a captain for the varsity team and love being on a team with all of my close friends. I decided to join Help Desk because I really do not work well with technology and I really hope to change that and be able to help you with your technology problems. After high school I will most likely join the military. However, after the military, I hope to become a state police officer here in Massachusetts. Also, I play lacrosse, I play more for fun so I was on the JV lacrosse team here at Burlington High school. Lastly, I was in journalism since freshman year however just recently dropped it. I find helping people out is very enjoyable and journalism and Help Desk both allow me to do that, by helping people with their technology problems and by spreading recent news in the newspaper here at Burlington HIgh School. I can’t wait for a fun semester ahead!

Hello, my name is Roby Castelluccio and I am a junior. This is my first year on Help Desk. A few of my interests are basketball and soccer which I play varsity for both and have played them ever since I was young. Other than sports, I have had some experience working more hands-on with landscaping and the restaurant business. I have had some experience with the restaurant technology playing around and getting comfortable with the software we used to use. The reason I decided to join Help Desk was so I could help others and become more comfortable with the technology, especially with the new addition of Chromebooks to the freshman class which could help me in the future. My career interests would be to become an electrician or an entrepreneur focusing more on the business side of things. Technology is pretty much used in most jobs today and with my interested in careers, specifically becoming an entrepreneur, it requires technology. Some examples are creating websites, blogs… etc., so I'm hoping to learn more about technology and software so that it can help me out in the future. I am looking forward to this class and learning new things.

My name is Tyler Chaires. I am a junior here at Burlington High School. I have always had an interest in technology and thought that since technology is easy for me to learn, I would work hard to help with issues with technology this semester. I am really interested in sports and esports. My hobbies include playing Xbox with friends and watching YouTube or staying home with the family to watch the Patriots game. I decided to be in the Help Desk because I have had many problems with my iPad and want to be able to resolve them not just for myself but other people as well.

Hi, my name is Michael Hardy and I am a senior at Burlington High school. This is my first year in help desk. I joined help desk to help further my knowledge of technology in general. Technology is constantly being used In today’s world and I hope to learn more about it as to not fall behind and be able to use technology more proactively myself. I know a good amount of tips and tricks for iPad problems and I am looking forward to helping students and teachers with any problems they may be having with their personal devices. I’m looking to go into a career in some form of Marketing. Some of the classes I have taken that I think will apply to help desk and my future career paths are Introduction to Business, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Introduction to Marketing, public speaking, and introduction to computer science. I am currently on the varsity soccer team and I am also a member of the student environmental action club.

Hello, my name is Ben Horgan, and I am a senior at BHS. I have a strong interest in computer programming, and I have taken multiple computer science courses, both at BHS and at outside programs. I am leaning toward the field of artificial intelligence for a future career. I joined the Help Desk to work on a two-dimensional game I am making with my friends, for which I am doing the majority of the programming. For me, being a part of the Help Desk is a chance to showcase my skills and experience in computer science. It is also a great opportunity to help other students with technological issues, which may be prevalent with the recent introduction of Chromebooks to BHS. As for my other interests, I am the president of the Student Council Executive Board, Secretary of National Honor Society, and a captain of the math league. I also am in the play and musical, and outside of school, I am the guitarist in a band. I look forward to my semester at BHS Help Desk.

Hi, my name is Moses Kisakye, and I am a junior at Burlington High School., I am interested in playing video games like NBA 2K, Black Ops, and also watch NBA mixtapes on YouTube. My decision to join Help Desk is because most of the people in BHS including me have problems fixing their iPad due to all the new updates, wifi problems, and have iPad setting problems. I feel like I can do something about it and know what the problem is. My career interest is to become a doctor and help people with diseases worldwide which is connected to the Help Desk where you help people with these needs. Not only am I interested in computers and my career, but I also have fun playing sports.  For example, soccer and basketball are the sports that I also play in school that keep me interested and happy.

Hello, my name is Akash Kunchum, and I am a senior at BHS. I am interested in anything relating to technology, specifically computer engineering and video games. I decided to join the BHS Help Desk because aside from programming classes, there aren’t many other areas at BHS available for those who want to utilize and develop their skills in technology. I knew that by joining the Help Desk, I could do many things relating to my interests and help other people in the process. At the Help Desk, I hope to help improve the technological aspect of the school, either by assisting with problems involving technology or by solving the issues of other students who are looking for advice. In the future, my optimal career choice would be a video game designer, because I think that the video gaming industry is growing faster than most other industries out there, and I have a passion for playing and creating games. Aside from any technology-related information about myself, I also have a second-degree black belt in Kempo, Ju-Jitsu, and other mixed martial arts, and I have been practicing karate for seven years now. I look forward to a great second semester at the BHS Help Desk!

I am Brendan Lucas, a senior at Burlington High School, and I joined the BHS Help Desk because I am interested in technology and there is much I can learn from the Help Desk; I also know that in the Help Desk I can assist students and teachers with any problems they bring to us. I have experience with building computers and some experience with Java programming. I also have a lot of experience with Windows and related software. I have been interested in technology since a very young age. I have been on the swim team for two years and have played piano on and off since elementary school. My favorite kind of music to play or listen to is usually soundtracks from movies, shows and video games. I have always been very interested in philosophy but have become more recently interested in science and politics. I spend a lot of time coming up with theories or explanations for things, so I want to study science in college (probably chemistry) and do research as a career.

My name is Erin Morris and I am a senior at Burlington High School. I am in Spanish Club and Best Buddies. I decided to join Help Desk because it is a very good skill to have for jobs and in the real world. Joining Help Desk will further educate me and allows me to experience different things every day. Learning more about technology and helping people with their devices is a good skill. Technology is changing and improving all the time and it is interesting to see the improvements and new things every day. For my career, I am going back and forth with majoring in business and health sciences. Both of these majors require the use of technology, and being in Help Desk can help me improve my technology skills and help others with their device issues. Whichever career path I take, my tech skills will be very beneficial. I enjoy working with others and helping others so it will be nice to help people with issues on the devices in school.

My name is Nirmal Patel and I am a senior at BHS. I am interested in the Help Desk because I enjoy working with technology and doing various things like programming and building. I also want to contribute in supporting the school technology and be able to come up with ideas so it can be used by the school. I have also been involved in sports such as Football and Track & Field. My career interests lean towards more of an engineering or a computer science major. With this class, I hope to step outside of the classroom atmosphere and pursue my passion or imagination to create things that I would be interested in making. I look forward to being a part of help desk and learning more about technology.

Hey guys! My name is Dakota Scalzi and I'm a senior here at Burlington High School. I currently play varsity soccer and I used to play junior varsity hockey back at my old high school in Cambridge. Personally, I love video games and I hope to pursue a career in writing/ programming video games. And the reason why I chose help desk is so that I can get the necessary learning experience in creating a video game, and learning how our everyday devices work. I hope I can push my technology skills to the limit and create something very unique.

Hi, my name is Shawn Scott. I’m currently a Freshman. As a new member of the help desk, I hope that I’ll be able to help anyone that needs it using my self-taught skills from my experience with tech. Some of my favorite hobbies are soccer, gaming, music, and watching the heated debates in the U.S.’s politics. The reason I joined the help desk is that I’m pretty confident when it comes to computers, Chromebooks, and iPads/iPhones. Also, another reason I joined help desk is that usually if my friend need help with tech they’ll ask me, so I’ll be pretty good with another student comes in for help. Some careers I’d like to have a job are being a policeman, firefighter, security guard, or designing video games, independently or with a big-time studio. Other than tech related thing something else you should know about he is that love pets, mostly dogs.

My name is Jared Smith, and I am currently a senior and first-year helpdesk student here at Burlington High School. My interests include various sports and outdoor activities. I play hockey and baseball here at BHS. I have always had a small interest in technology, and how it works, (not just having the newest iPhone). I decided to join Help Desk because of what sort of started as a joke. For a couple of years now, my family has always asked me for help when they had a tech problem. I began to learn the ins and outs of different operating systems and the probable fixes to problems. I figured that I know enough to help the students of BHS with their technology needs. As for career plans, I plan to go to college after high school to study criminal justice. From there I hope to become a police officer, to continue to help people which I have always been passionate in doing. Some more interesting things about myself are that I have been interested in graphic design, using programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Hello, my name is Sean Surabian, and I am a senior at Burlington High School. My interests include computer science and sports. I am a close follower of the professional sports world especially the four major leagues in the United States. The league that I like the most is the NHL because I play hockey and it is the only sport that I play currently. Hockey was the first sport that I tried and it has always been my favorite. I decided to join the Help Desk because I wanted to help the students at Burlington High School who were struggling with their technology, while also improving my knowledge of technology. Another reason why I joined help desk was because I thought it would be a good idea to learn things that you would not learn in a programming class about technology. I am thinking about studying in the computer science field in college. An interesting fact about myself is that I used to box in seventh grade. Another interesting fact about myself is that I enjoy scary movies.

My name is Cameron Wheelock. I am a junior at Burlington High School in the Help Desk. Although I am not sure what I want to do for my career outside of high school, I joined the Help Desk to try and see if I am up for any technological studies. I have always been into computers and laptops and other relatively new devices but I am not quite sure if I should go all the way with this. I play football, baseball, and run track for Burlington High sports teams. I do hope that my problem solving, experience, and effort can address and fix any problems you may have.

Hello, my name is Vibishan Wigneswaranand I am a senior at Burlington High School. Some of my hobbies consist of playing tennis, gymnastics, and PC building among other things. My incentive for joining Help Desk is the technological opportunities that it supports. Help Desk assists students in the production of team projects and other opportunities that are valuable after high school and beyond. Help Desk is valuable in its relation to my potential career choices. Currently, I am inclined to pursue a career in engineering. Some interesting facts about me are that I have Canadian citizenship and play the euphonium and flute.

Hello, my name is Dan Xue, and I’m a senior in the Burlington High School. As a newcomer to Help Desk, I hope to become a valuable asset to the class through assisting students and teachers in their technological needs using my own experience. My interests include computer building, programming, graphical design, music, and swimming. I also closely follow politics, with a deep interest in modern world history. Aside from fixing problems with iPads, Chromebooks, and other various devices, I became a member of Help Desk in order to work in a personal development group, Cosmic Productions. Our current project involves using Java, Photoshop, and Sibelius, along with other integrative programs, to create and market a video game over platforms on both PC and console. I also hope to utilize the resources at BHS to create many more projects and activities and enhance the school’s relationship with technology. My career goal is to become an aerospace engineer, with a major in physics and engineering branches. If any teacher or student has questions about their devices, programs, or general tech, feel free to ask.

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Kobe Russell

My name is Kobe Russell and I am a senior at Burlington high school. I decided to join Help Desk so I can help students and teachers with any problems they have with their devices and to expand my knowledge and ability to troubleshoot problems. Some of my interests include running, engineering, working with technology and problem-solving. Another reason I joined Help Desk is that I generally enjoy working with technology and helping people solve problems. After high school, I am looking to go to college to study architecture and engineering and eventually become a licensed architect.

Kristina Costa

Hi, my name is Kristina Costa and I am currently a senior at Burlington High School. I am interested in many different things. With technology, I am interested in how things work and how I can help fix them if they are working correctly. Other than technology, I am interested in sports such as lacrosse, baseball, and hockey. My favorite sports team is the Boston Red Sox and my favorite player is Andrew Benintendi. Outside of school, I have a passion for baking. When I finish my senior year of high school at Burlington, I am hoping to go to school for culinary, specifically, baking and pastry arts. After college, I am hoping to eventually own a bakery of my own in the Boston area. Something interesting about me is that I have been going to New Hampshire every summer since I was born. Ever since my 23-year-old brother was a baby, my parents have been taking him to our summer home in New Hampshire. Freedom, New Hampshire has always been my home away from home.

Bio to follow:

Charlie Parras