Calling all Mobile App Developers! – Special Invite to College and University Student Developers

The ADL Initiative announces today its launch of the STEM App Challenge. The motivation behind this challenge is to help learners in grades 9-12 overcome common misconceptions they may have in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The specific goal of the challenge is to identify innovative mobile applications that provide STEM learning tools. The challenge is open to all mobile App developers, but specifically college students, who have creative ideas for developing Apps that foster problem-solving, discovery, and exploratory learning in the targeted area of “common misconceptions of science.” There is no cost for entering the challenge.

“Today’s students are grasping for technological tools to assist them in the process of learning,” stated Dr. Kristy Murray, Director, ADL Initiative. “This program is designed to entice college students (as well as other developers) to develop engaging mobile Apps that push innovative and interactive educational solutions for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”

The challenge intends to address student comprehension of STEM key concepts that are an essential step in learning, but are either missing or not fully understood, especially in science. The objective of the STEM App Challenge is to create a winning App that will help students acquire knowledge and understanding by manipulating tasks, simulations, or situations that require them to critically evaluate what they are learning and discover the basic understanding that is vital to learning about science.

The winning mobile App may be used in the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, and the winning developers will be showcased at the prestigious Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative’s iFest Conference in Orlando, Florida, 31 July-2 Aug 2012.

The contest runs from 2 April 2012 to 4 June 2012. For more information and for submitting App entries, please visit: http://www.adlnet.gov/stem-app-challenge