Voting Now Open: Help Cobb County Students Win $15,000 and the Chance to Bring their App Idea to Life in the Verizon Innovative Learning App Challenge
Kell High School Students Named Best in Georgia, Now Eligible to Win National Awards
WHAT: A team of students from Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., has been named Best in State winners in the fifth annual Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge for its mobile app concept called The Breeze. The team will receive a $5,000 award from the Verizon Foundation for their school and tablets for each student team member.
As one of two winners from Georgia, the team is now eligible to win one of eight Best In Nation Awards, selected by a panel of education and industry experts, and the Fan Favorite Award, determined by public voting, to earn an additional $15,000 for their school and the opportunity to work with MIT Media Lab experts to bring their app idea to life.
From Jan. 16, 2017 until Feb. 14, 2017, anyone can vote to help The Breeze win the Fan Favorite award by texting the code found next to the team’s entry at www.verizon.com/appchallenge/
The students’ winning app idea was selected from more than 1,800 submissions nationwide, and was inspired by the stresses teenagers face in job hunting. The Breeze app would ease the process for job-hunting high school students by showing job openings in their area. The app would include reviews from previous employees, and would filter opportunities based on several criteria (salary rates, work hours, locations and student interests).
The Fan Favorite and Best in Nation teams will present their completed apps at the annual Technology Student Association (TSA) Conference in Orlando, Fla., in June 2017, courtesy of Verizon Innovative Learning, the education initiative of the Verizon Foundation. Their apps will be downloadable from the Google Play store.
WHY: As the job market shifts due to the rapid progression of technological advances, it’s clear we need to do more to spark greater student interest and proficiency in technology, and give them project based learning opportunities.
Over the past four years of the app challenge, we’ve seen thousands of students use technology and work together to create app concepts that are addressing societal issues facing their schools and communities. By providing these kids with technology, role models and exposure to STEM-related careers, we can help them to achieve a brighter future.
More about the Verizon Innovative Learning App Challenge
Verizon Innovative Learning, the education initiative of the Verizon Foundation, created the annual app challenge in partnership with the Technology Student Association, and in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, to spark greater student interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and provide hands-on learning experiences.
