Published on: Wednesday, November 17, 2010

By Richelle Gonzalez

Hundreds of students from nearby schools attended “Tech Mania” last Friday at Capitol College.

Tech Mania, which began at 9 a.m. and consisted of seven 20-minute work sessions, has been held twice a year since April 2008.

“We’re so happy that you’re here because you know what? We’re part of the community too. We’re part of the global community as well as the Maryland and D.C. community. We want to make sure that you guys consider us your home. So mi casa es su casa. Welcome to Tech Mania,” said George Walls, the director of admissions at Capitol College, as he welcomed the group of eager students to the event.

The annual event promotes STEM-based careers in science, technology, engineering and math through hands-on exploration of new technologies, which aid in solving complex problems nationally and globally.

Youth from Prince George’s County, as well as from Anne Arundel and Howard counties, were split into smaller groups and shuffled around the McGowan Academic Center, attending workshops on topics such as social networks, GPS technology, Bluetooth technology, iPhone apps and cyber security.

Robert Bennett of Northrop Grumman talked to the students about ways to secure home-computers to prevent infiltration and identity theft by potential hackers.

To have a system not properly secured is to have a house without a door, Bennett said.

Steps to improve cyber security include using unique passwords that implement symbols and capitalization or securing computers with web encryption. It is also important to generally be cautious, Bennett told the Tech Mania attendees.

“You have to develop a sense of — is this a good site or not,” he said.

At the end of the session, the group of ninth graders from Eleanor Roosevelt High School flocked to the front of the room to ask questions.

“They really do enjoy it because they’re speaking their language,” said Davida Taylor, the technical education chair at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

The Eleanor Roosevelt students participate in a robotics club as well, Taylor explained.

In another session with Capitol College Professor Angela Walters, the youth were able to learn about Satellite Tool Kit, a program used by NASA, airlines and the military. After learning the basics, they were able to use the program themselves to enter coordinates for an orbiting satellite.

The event featured presentations from Booz Allen Hamilton, Capitol College, FiberPlus, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Proteus Technologies and TeleCommunication System Inc.

Forte Meade Alliance, a nonprofit independent community membership organization hosted the event. This year, they partnered with Capitol College.

Megan Campbell, the director of marketing and communications at Capitol College, said the event aims to get students engaged and excited for careers in technology, which will in turn make the nation more competitive in these fields.

Over 825 students from central Maryland counties have been able to take advantage of Tech Mania since it began in 2008.

The next Tech Mania event will take place in the spring.