‘Cool Stuff’ that makes a difference
On a freezing cold day in December, 13-year-old Noah and BC graduate student Esha Patel were locked in a heated battle of tic-tac-toe. From his wheelchair, Noah tapped his fingertips on a square-shaped yellow pad, moving an illuminated “O” across the grid in front of him. He blocked Patel’s first attempt at three in a row, then her second, before swooping in for the victory. Cheers went up from teachers and staff in the room.
“Ok, you win, let’s do best of three,” said Patel, smiling as she reset the game. “I’m not going easy on you this time.”
Noah is a middle schooler at the Campus School at Boston College, a special education day school for students with extensive support needs housed within the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. His disabilities make playing traditional tic-tac-toe challenging, but the version Patel brought with her that day was different: its square touch pads responded to the lightest tap and could stretch to reach wheelchair trays, and its brightly-lit screen used high-contrast colors that children with visual impairments could distinguish.
Patel and a classmate designed and built the adaptive game themselves as part of a unique business technology course offered by Carroll School of Management Associate Professor John Gallagher. Since its launch, “Physical Computing: Art, Robotics, and Tech for Good” has challenged BC students to learn new technology, design, and business skills and put them to use in service of others. For their final project, students take on Campus School kids as clients, designing sensory-based games, interactive learning tools, and accessible instruments to help them learn, communicate, and in Noah’s case, have fun.
“It’s a great way to get BC students who are majoring in computer science, finance, or business familiar with assistive technology and how important it is for people with disabilities,” said Meghan McGowan, an assistive technology professional at the Campus School. “My hope is that they’ll carry that experience with them in the future when they’re creating things and working with people.”
Teaching ‘Tech for Good’
When he meets someone for the first time, John Gallaugher often tells people he’s the “guy behind the neon Baldwin,” referencing the brightly-lit sign portraying BC’s eagle mascot that hangs in his office window. Like much of his decor, the sign is a project he made while testing out skills for one of his courses, in this case using electro-luminescent wire to mimic neon. Other creations include a tabletop Yoda, programmed to speak BC‑themed phrases, and a disco button that sets off strobe lights and music, transforming the room into a scene from “Saturday Night Fever.”
Gallaugher has always loved to “make cool stuff,” and he knows that many students enroll in “Tech for Good” to do just that, but he’s equally passionate about making an impact. As an undergraduate at Boston College in the ‘80s, he taught English to Lao refugees as part of the PULSE service learning program, “the most impactful learning experience I’ve ever had.” When he returned to the Heights as a professor, one of his early mentors was former Egan Chair of Computer Science Jim Gips, who helped develop groundbreaking technologies for people with disabilities, including Campus School students.
“I knew Jim did work with the Campus School, so when I started teaching this class I reached out to them and said, ‘Hey, would you like any projects?’ And they jumped at the chance,” Gallaugher recalled. “It's really special because this is one of the few classes where students have a real client. They’re having meetings, proposing concepts, designing prototypes—all the kinds of things they would deal with in the industry.”
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Grad student Shamili Satheesan identifies characters from 'A Tail for Baby Lizard' with Aya. (Jenn Miller)
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Grad student Esha Patel (left) plays tic-tac-toe with Noah and Assistive Technology Professional Meghan McGowan. (Jenn Miller)
A Campus School student plays an adaptive harp created by Daniel Martin and Jack Tommaney. (Jenn Miller)
“Tech for Good” is open to students from across the University, with no prerequisites. Last fall’s cohort included several graduate students from the Lynch School, an MBA student, and undergraduates majoring in computer science, marketing, and human-centered engineering. Every week, they gathered in the prototyping studio at the Hatchery, BC’s state-of-the-art makerspace, to build increasingly complex projects, ranging from the practical (a medication reminder box) to the just-for-fun (a joystick-powered rubber band launcher). For many, it was their first time writing code or even hearing the word “accelerometer” (a device that measures movement).
“It’s basically learning a brand new language,” said Patel, a former middle school teacher. “It’s a lot of rigorous work but it’s also so rewarding to see what you can create in such a short time.”
“ I'm kind of a sap. I'll sometimes mist up when the students are presenting their projects at the end of the semester because it's beautiful, and it's what we stand for. ”
Gallaugher uses a flipped classroom model, asking students to learn new concepts on their own time, through video lectures and tutorials he creates, before coming to class to apply them. Students start by learning CircuitPython, a programming language, on low-cost microcontroller boards (essentially mini computers), and then add new skills every week. By the time they begin their Campus School projects, they’ve experimented with LED lights, buttons, sensors, robotics, motors, bluetooth communications, the internet of things, and much more. Not only do they know what an accelerometer is, they’ve used one to build a magic wand that lights up when waved.
“At this point, they've got so many things that they can build, they're not going to sit back and say, ‘Oh, I'd like to do this, but I don't know how,’” said Gallaugher. “If they hear about a hardware component we haven’t covered, like a sensor that measures the pressure when somebody sits down, they have the skills to go learn it on their own.”
Video by Lola Ellis '26 | University Communications
Lasting impact
Many “Tech for Good” creations are still used at the Campus School today, including an adaptive cash register that opens using a switch and displays messages on an attached LED board, a fish feeder, and a light-up version of Candy Land. In December, the newest batch of projects were on display during a technology showcase at the Hatchery, which McGowan and several dozen community members attended. In one corner, Daniel Martin ’26 demonstrated an adapted harp, which used laser beams in place of strings, and MBA student Tyler Arut Lin encouraged guests to try on his color-reading glove, which audibly identified colors for students with visual impairment. Others students designed projects for Campus School teachers to use in class: Gonzalo Verdugo ’26 and Michael Donohue ’26 created a BC-themed motivational message board to kickstart morning meetings, and grad student Shamili Satheesan made a tactile literacy tool to accompany her client’s favorite children’s book: A Tail for Baby Lizard.
“These are all the main characters from the book and when you touch them, there’s an MP3 file that says the name,” she explained. “When students are reading with their teacher or caregiver they can feel the book and turn the pages but this makes the experience even more engaging.”
To build her project, Satheesan used a laser cutter and engraver to craft the box, and then programmed touch sensors to connect to audio files using CircuitPython and a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 microcontroller board. She was excited to see the reaction of her Campus School client, Aya, when she delivered the box the following week.
“I heard she likes blue and pink,” she said, pointing out the lion’s fluorescent mane, “so I added that in for her.”