Planets app wins
Apple awards teen
A LARA teenager has landed a prestigious award from tech giant Apple for his innovative virtual planetarium creation.
Year 10 Saint Ignatius student Christian Privitelli was one of 350 student winners worldwide, and one of 10 in Australia at Apple Inc’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last month.
The 16-year-old said it felt “pretty good” to be named as a WWDC20 Swift Student Challenge winner in a coding contest for students.
“It’s nice to get something in return for the things I’m making. It makes me want to go and make other stuff,” he said.
Christian created an augmented reality solar system app, which allows users to select a planet, learn about it and then complete a quiz at the end — all through hand tracking technology. As part of his award, Christian had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Apple engineers.
Christian said he started coding in 2015 after watching a video on how to use Xcode to create an app.
“Ever since we got our first computer, I’ve been watching YouTube to learn how to make things,” he said.
“I really enjoy being able to just write code and then see that come to life, it’s a pretty good feeling to see what I’m writing actually become something. I have a lot of fun experimenting with different things I can create.”
Christian hopes to learn more about Apple’s user interface toolkit SwiftUI and how it can be used to create home assistant apps.
He is also finishing developing a robot hand with a classmate.
A NEW program is taking students on a four-week journey of discovery to understand why Geelong’s bee population is declining.
The Bees with Backpacks program sees students create virtual bee-friendly environments while learning more about bee anatomy, microchip technology, raw data collection and data analysis.
CSIRO’s Data61 developed the technology to track behavioural patterns of bees via a microchip — or “backpack” — that causes no distress to the insects.
City of Greater Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said the project would play a key role in discovering new information to benefit the Geelong community and studies across the world.
“Bees are so critical to our survival, and the more we understand about what’s happening, the better,” Cr Asher said. “This research also promotes the exploration of new technologies and encourages hands-on learning for students in the important areas of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.”
The program teaches secondary students to use data to analyse the relationship between bee populations and tree species.
In partnership with Geelong Tech School, CSIRO’s
Data61 and the CoGG, Sacred Heart College geography students are currently undertaking the course.
Education Minister James Merlino said the program tackled a crucial real-world problem while linking local students with international research.
“It’s a great example of how industry, research and education can come together to generate a unique experience for students,” he said.