Jack Cooper, a STEAM teacher at Northbridge International School Cambodia, said the act of hacking was also a great example of interdisciplinary learning.
He said students learn something in the classroom and then are equipped to take that knowledge and apply it in a different setting.
Mr Cooper said creative thinking is required to be able to do that.
“Not having constraints on a project is a hundred times more challenging because you don’t know where to start,” Mr Cooper said.
“It tests your thinking in terms of what you can come up with.”
Creative thinking is also demonstrated through Medical Marvel, the third and last Superhero-themed MIT Challenge, currently running at NAE schools. The series of three activities is designed exclusively for NAE students by the world-leading university and the challenge highlights the work of Professor Chris Voigt, who invented a computer language that programs cells in a way that improves human health outcomes. It also highlights how the professor tapped into his creative prowess by pulling knowledge from several disciplines including coding, biology, engineering and medicine to solve a complex health problem.
“Who would have thought you could program human cells using a computer language? It’s so out there,” Mr Cooper said.