Students who participate in the Technology Fair appreciate helpful feedback. Thoughtful assessment of their work gives them the means to improve their projects. Students use judges' suggestions to hone their understanding and sharpen their skills. Prior to demonstrating their projects in the Technology Fair, participants were advised to complete a self-assessment.
Examples of constructive criticism offered by judges from previous Tech Fairs are listed below.
- Think about what you've learned while working on your project and be able to explain:
- why the project is important to you (specifically, why was the project important enough for you to learn new information or skills when you could have been doing something else with your time)
- how the project is important to you (for example, how can you use what you have learned outside of school when the Tech Fair has ended)
- Set goals for what you still need to learn. Keep a list of those goals. Make a note of when and how you achieve each goal. If and when you go on to the State Technology Fair, judges there will ask you about what you needed to learn and how you learned it.
- Be able to answer the following questions:
- What do you really, truly know about ____?
- What do you think you know about ____?
- What do you want to know about ____?
- How will you be able to tell when you have successfully mastered ____?
- What was the hardest part of this project?
- What would you do differently next time?
Students who produce outstanding projects (in 3D Modeling, Animation, Audio Production, etc...) work hard at learning how to effectively:
- plan
- find and use the materials and information they need
- ask for help and listen to suggestions
- honestly judge their own work
There is a connection between effort (how hard you work) and achievement (how successful you are). Put more effort into your work by:
- keeping records (a log, journal, or notes) about what you’re doing
- marking on a calendar each day you've worked on your project.
- taking digital photographs or videos of your progress
- writing a few thoughts about the most difficult problem you've had to solve while trying to complete your project