Maryland Middle Schoolers Advance to "Best in Region" in Verizon App Challenge

Lime Kiln Middle School Student Team Named Best in Region in Third Verizon Innovative App Challenge

A group of students from Lime Kiln Middle School has earned one of 24 Best in Region awards in the third national Verizon Innovative App Challenge.

The all girls student team came up with an app concept called VolunteerMe that provides information about volunteer opportunities in their school or community to take advantage of the younger generation’s interests and willingness to serve.

The team has now won two rounds of judging and, after a live virtual presentation to a panel of judges, the students could win one of eight top national honors. The Best in Region winners were selected from more than 1,099 app concepts submitted by school teams nationwide.

“This whole experience is surreal. It really taught us to never give up,” said the team that includes Annie Larkins, Jessica Zinderman, Korie Scott, Lauren Hayden and Rebecca Li. “We would have missed a once in a lifetime experience if we didn’t follow through. Volunteering is an important part of our lives and we want it to be important for others too.”

Under the Innovative App Challenge, middle- and high-school student teams were asked to design a mobile application concept that addresses a need or problem in their local schools or communities.

The Verizon Innovative App Challenge was created in partnership with the Technology Student Association in response to a critical need to inspire student interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Student interest and proficiency in STEM has been stagnant in the United States, especially among women and minorities, although 80 percent of all jobs over the next decade will require STEM skills. Currently, 3 million STEM jobs are unfilled in the U.S., and occupations related to STEM are projected to increase to more than 9 million by 2022.

Verizon is committed to improving student engagement and achievement in STEM by infusing technology into the classroom through a variety of initiatives. The Innovative App Challenge focuses on identifying concepts for mobile apps and encourages students to learn about app development. Because mobile devices and apps play a leading role in the lives of young people today, app development is an effective way to engage them, transforming them from users of technology to creators. Teaching app development empowers students to become builders of technology solutions to everyday problems.

More than 90 percent of the winners from last year’s Innovative App Challenge expressed interest in pursuing STEM careers after learning coding and launching their winning app in the Google Play store. Roughly 70 percent reported increased creativity, teamwork and communication skills, and content knowledge.

“We congratulate these students for taking on this challenge, proposing a great concept that could solve a problem and earn their school a grant,” said Melanie Ortel at Verizon Wireless. “The App Challenge is a comprehensive contest that tests their writing, production, presentation and critical-thinking skills, all of which are needed to develop solutions to solve problems.”

The 24 winning teams – 12 each from middle and high schools – represent the West, Midwest, South and East regions. Each Best in Region team has earned a $5,000 cash grant for its school to further develop or support a STEM program.

Mrs. Tracy Spillman, the GT Resource teacher who worked with the girls said, “Winning Regions is affirmation of how a great idea, hard work, passion, and perseverance pays off. The girls’ talent and interest in volunteerism is inspiring to us all.” Principal Scott Conroy agreed, “This is a testimony to the talent and the bright minds of our students. I know that anything is possible if given the opportunity and desire.”

Regional Winners Now Vie for Best in Nation

The Best in Region teams now advance to the final round of the competition on Feb. 3, when eight Best in Nation winners – four middle school and four high school teams – are chosen. Best in Nation teams will earn their schools an additional $15,000 cash grant from the Verizon Foundation to further develop or support a STEM-related program. Each team member will receive a Samsung tablet, courtesy of Samsung Electronics America. In addition, MIT App Inventor Master Trainers from the Center for Mobile Learning at the MIT Media Lab will give the Best in Nation teams onsite and virtual training on coding and app development, using MIT App Inventor to develop the teams’ apps.

Verizon, in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, will help the students develop their app concepts, making them ready for sharing and distribution. Apps developed during the first two years of the Verizon Innovative App Challenge have been downloaded more than 26,000 times from the Google Play store.

One of the 2013-14 App Challenge winners, an all-girls team from Resaca Middle School in Los Fresnos, Texas, was invited to the annual White House Science Fair to demonstrate its “Hello Navi” app, which was built to help a blind classmate better navigate the halls at school.

In June, the members of the eight winning teams will be invited to present their apps in person at the National TSA Conference in Dallas, courtesy of Verizon.

To see the list of the Best in Region winners, visit http://verizon.com/appchallenge.