Schools
Olivia Davis - Whiz Kid of the Week
Welcome to Whiz Kids. Each week we will honor a great kid from Lawrence Township who is an inspiration to all of us, adults included.
- Olivia Davis
- 14 years old
- 8th grader, Lawrence Middle School
- First-place winner of NJAET's "Six Sounds in Search of an Author" Contest
Olivia Davis is this week's Whiz Kid for winning first place honors in the Horror/SciFi/Fantasy Middle School category in the New Jersey Association for Educational Technology's "Six Sounds in Search of an Author" contest.
Late last fall, Olivia and her classmates in a robotics and technology class at Lawrence Middle School participated in the contest by each creating a one-minute audio story. The students were allowed to craft their story however they wanted, but they were each required to include in their story the same six sound effects — a striking match, an engine roar, a beating heart, cricket chirps, a ringing phone, and a splash.
The goal of the project was to teach students and educators how to create and mix audio for their classroom or a podcast. According to the NJAET website: "It's a challenge and opportunity to get creative within specific boundaries and rules."
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NJAET received 120 submissions from teachers throughout New Jersey. Olivia's first place honor in the Horror/SciFi/Fantasy Middle School category was one of nine awards handed out.
When asked what she thought of the project, Olivia said: "I thought this was a different assignment for a computer class because it allowed me to be more creative than technical."
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The idea for the podcast just came to her when she listened to the sounds that had to be incorporated into the story. Olivia is an honor roll student who also enjoys creative writing.
Olivia's winning podcast, as well as the other 11 submissions from teacher Debra Goldberg's class can be listened to on the school district's website.
The eight other winning podcasts can be found here.
Want to nominate a girl or boy from Lawrence Township to be next week’s Whiz Kid? Send your nominations to Lawrenceville Patch Editor Michael Ratcliffe. Please include your name and email address, as well as the Whiz Kid nominee’s name, age, school, details about his or her accomplishment and a high-resolution JPG photo of the nominee.
