NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This week nine
teams of middle and high school aged students from across the
country learned their concepts for new mobile apps are winners of
the fourth Verizon Innovative App Challenge. The teams earned their
schools, clubs or organizations $20,000 from the Verizon Foundation to further
develop or support STEM-related programming, and will now work with
experts from MIT Media Lab to bring their app ideas to life.
This year, for the first time, Verizon invited the public to
play a role in the Innovative App Challenge by casting a vote for
the Fan Favorite app concept. With more than 150,000 votes cast,
the app concept POP (Protect our Parks), took home that title. POP
was developed by a team of students from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Wyandotte, Mich., and would enable users to
quickly report when parks are in need of clean up or repair.
As in previous years, a panel of judges including educators and
industry experts assembled by the Technology Student Association
named the additional eight Best In Nation winning teams for their
creative app concepts.
The national competition, created by Verizon in partnership with
the Technology Student Association, and presented in collaboration
with MIT Media Lab, challenged student teams across the country to
come up with ideas for mobile apps that could solve a problem in
their schools or communities, with no coding skills required.
Submissions for this year's contest demonstrated students'
increased interest in tackling pressing social issues, not only in
their communities but on a national scale. Many teams' app concepts
focused specifically on helping those with disabilities and chronic
health issues, such as epilepsy, neurological conditions, autism
and mental health. A number of submissions also addressed ways to
provide aid for those in poverty.
This year's winners and their app concepts are:
- AutBuddy, an app to help children with autism manage tasks, and
to help their parents and teachers communicate, see video
(Adventure In Science, Derwood,
Md.)
- Diction Defender, an app to help users practice English
language skills and master sentence structure, see video
(Altona Middle School, Longmont, Colo.)
- FTDC - Force Transmission Data Collector, an app to help
prevent concussions on the football field, see video (Pine Crest
School, Fort. Lauderdale,
Fla.)
- Kidspiration, a kid-friendly career testing app to help
children discover potential careers opportunities, see video (West
Salem High School, Salem,
Ore.)
- Pay It Forward, an app to combat hunger by enabling users to
buy a meal for a person in need, see video (Harrison High School, Harrison, N.Y.)
- Pharm Alarm, an app to help people with dementia and
Alzheimer's disease remember to complete essential tasks and take
medication, see video (Meyzeek Middle School, Louisville, Ky.)
- Fan Favorite App: POP (Protect
our Parks), an app to help users report when parks are in need of
clean up or repair, see video (Woodrow
Wilson Middle School, Wyandotte,
Mich.)
- SAFE SPEED, an app to make roads safer by encouraging drivers
to adhere to speed limits, see video (Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic
High School, Cranberry Township,
Penn.)
- Vroom, a carpooling app to help students find rides from
afterschool activities, see video (Johns Creek High School, Johns
Creek, Ga.)
"Each year, students have raised the bar for the App Challenge
and we are continuously impressed by their thoughtful solutions to
such a broad range of societal issues," said Justina Nixon-Saintil, director of education and
technology programs for the Verizon Foundation. "Getting young
people to realize the power of critical thinking and technology to
drive change is what this contest is all about," she added, "and
these skills will undoubtedly prepare them for jobs of the future
as well."
It is predicted that the United
States may be short nearly three million high-skilled
workers by 2018. While the education system currently sees enough
talent in math and science to fill the need for traditional STEM
workers, less than 25% of those students enter STEM majors in
college and of those that do, 38% of students who start with a STEM
major do not graduate with one.1
In June, members of the nine winning teams will present their
apps in person at the National TSA Conference in Nashville, courtesy of Verizon.
Learn more about the Innovative App Challenge, as well as this
year's winners at http://verizon.com/appchallenge.
About the Technology Student Association
(TSA)
TSA is a national organization for students
engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM). Open to young people enrolled in or who have completed
technology education courses, TSA's membership includes more than
230,000 middle and high school students in 2,000 schools spanning
49 states. TSA partners with universities and other organizations
to promote a variety of STEM competitions and opportunities for
students and teachers. TSA is supported by educators, parents, and
business leaders who believe in the need for a technologically
literate society. From engineers to business managers, our alumni
credit TSA with a positive influence in their lives. Visit
the Technology Student Association website for more
information.
About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change
by using the company's innovative technology to help solve pressing
problems in education, healthcare and energy management.
Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a
billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees
work and live. Verizon's employees are generous with their
donations and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours
of service to make a positive difference in their
communities. For more information about Verizon's
philanthropic work,
visit www.verizon.com/about/responsibility; or for
regular updates, visit Facebook
(www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter
(www.twitter.com/verizongiving).
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive
speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are
available at Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news/
News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe,
visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
1 Georgetown University's Center
on Education and the Workforce, 2011, STEM Report
Media contact:
Jessica
Thorpe
908.559.6734
jessica.thorpe@verizonwireless.com
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SOURCE Verizon