LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Students from across Michigan filled the State Capitol on Tuesday to demonstrate the technology projects they’ve been building in their classrooms. The annual Michgian Association of Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Student Technology Showcase featured robots, coding challenges, engineering builds, digital media projects, and outreach programs, all designed and led by students.
Inside Heritage Hall, more than two dozen schools set up displays highlighting how hands-on learning is reshaping education. From automated systems and app development to problem-solving challenges, each project showed how students are taking ownership of their learning through collaboration, creativity, and technology.
“The kids are the ones that are leading the charge here,” said Tammy Maginity, executive director of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). “They’re doing the problem solving and critical thinking and working collaboratively as a group so they can make these projects come to reality.”
One of the showcased projects, Crayons to Careers, was created by students from the Calhoun Area Career Center. The group has been working to bring STEM lessons into third-grade classrooms, introducing younger students to engineering concepts through simple hands-on challenges.
“It was an attempt to bridge the gap between a lack of STEM in elementary schools and all of the STEM in the world,” said student participant Eleanor Knack. “We presented the kids with challenges, and they got to learn what it means to fail and then figure out how to beat that challenge in a practical way.”
Knack said sharing their work at the showcase helps demonstrate how classroom tools can translate to real-life problem-solving and future career pathways. “We’re sharing the current tools of technology that we found to be helpful and what it could look like in actual real-life use,” she said. “Having a place to see these tools in action and reflect on how you can use them is really important.”
Organizers say the showcase isn’t just about displaying projects — it’s about reinforcing the value of hands-on, student-led learning. As Maginity put it, “You learn by doing. You learn by teaching other people. They’ll learn so much today just because they have to teach other people about what they do.”
Now in its 24th year, the Student Technology Showcase continues to grow, with students leading the way in how technology is shaping Michigan classrooms.
For more on MACUL and its work supporting classroom technology, visit: https://macul.org/
