A National US Apps Challenge
This year marks the first annual Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academic Competition, the “House Student App Challenge.” This new challenge is designed to engage student’s creativity and encourage their participation in STEM education fields. Established by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, this challenge is a nationwide event that allows high school students from across the country to learn by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. Throughout the challenge period, participating students will be provided opportunities to engage with various STEM educational partners located within the community to mentor and assist them with their app development.
The “House Student App Challenge” is open to all high school students in participating districts. To find out if your district is participating, visit this link. Students entering the competition must submit their app’s source code online during the Competition Submission Period between 12 PM Eastern Standard Time on FEBRUARY 1ST, 2014, and 12 PM Eastern Daylight Time on APRIL 30TH, 2014, as well as provide a YouTube or VIMEO video demo explaining their app and what they learned through this competition process. Entries are judged on qualilty, including creativity and originality, implementation of the idea (including user interface and design) and programming skills. Submissions can be made for design only in which case entries are judged on the quality and implementation categories only. Complete rules can be found here. There doesn’t seem to be a theme or purpose requirement. Although there are only five days as of this post for this year, if you miss the deadline, you can mark your calendars for next year.