Helping immigrants assimilate, combatting heart disease and saving marine life are some of the issues addressed through new technology created by Ventura County high school students at the third annual Hackathon by the Sea. Last weekend in Camarillo, 157 students spent an entire night creating and coding apps and games with the assistance of more than 50 volunteer mentors. Presented by the Ventura County Office of Education, the Hackathon encourages students to use technology in creative ways to solve problems and engage users. At the end of the event, student teams presented their creations to judges, who awarded prizes in the following categories:

Overall Winner

Recipients:

• Kalea Gin - Westlake High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District
• Sofia Ieraci - Westlake High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District
• Matthew Omidghaemi - Westlake High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District

Project Title: Turtle Trouble

Description: We are Team Turtle, and we are working to save all marine life, from turtles to tiger sharks. Our program, Turtle Trouble, is a survival game meant to engage users in an exciting way to raise awareness about pollution and support marine wellness through ad revenue donations.

Best Demo

Recipients:

• Allison Tang - Oak Park High School, Oak Park Unified School District
• Ishya Cherukupalli - Oak Park High School, Oak Park Unified School District
• Shyla Yadav - Oak Park High School, Oak Park Unified School District

Project Title: Social Vista

Description: The Social Vista project is an app that helps immigrants assimilate to their new communities.

Most Creative

Recipient:

• Melvin Soriano - El Camino High School, Ventura Unified School District

Project Title: Modified Pacemaker

Description: To help combat heart disease, more specifically heart failure, I have built a custom and reprogrammable pacemaker to help the growth of heart stem cells on suture.

Humanity Award

Recipients:

• September Goldberg - Pacifica High School, Oxnard Union High School District
• Kayden Jackson - Adolfo Camarillo High School, Oxnard Union High School District
• Jennifer Lopez - Pacifica High School, Oxnard Union High School District
• Sophia Mai Nugwynne - Thousand Oaks High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District

Project Title: R.O.M.A.

Description: R.O.M.A. is an application that the user can use to seek personalized company that won't judge them.

Most Technical

Recipient:

• Gabriel Bacon  - Ventura High School, Ventura Unified School District
• Paul Kim - Ventura High School, Ventura Unified School District

Project Title: Snitch-Master 3000

Description: Our RFID/Google Sheets-based attendance system can help teachers take more accurate attendance, improve security and productivity and save money for schools. By using cards to automate the process, attendance can be done in real time, and students who have been absent from school can instantly see what assignments they have missing.

More Information

Hackathon by the Sea – Girls Edition, which is a similar event exclusively for girls, will be held next spring. Additional information about Hackathon by the Sea is available at www.vcoe.org/hackathon.