This year marks the first annual Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academic Competition, the “House App Contest.” This new competition 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 competition is a nationwide event that allows high school students from across the country to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. An appointed panel of individuals within the academic, software and entrepreneurial fields judged this year’s entries.
- The “House App Contest” is open only to high school students (grades 9-12) who reside in Ohio’s 8th Congressional District or who are eligible to attend public high school in the 8th District. Individuals submitting on behalf of teams must meet the eligibility requirements for individual Contestants.
- Students may CLICK HERE to check eligibility.
HOW DO I ENTER?
- To enter, students must create an account on www.challengepost.com and then register for the “House Student App Contest” under Congressman Boehner’s profile during the Competition Submission Period, which is Saturday, February 1, 2014, to Wednesday, April 30, 2014 (NOTE entries must be submitted by 11:59pm Eastern Daylight Time).
- Students entering the competition must submit the required materials online during the Competition Submission Period (Saturday, February 1, 2014, to Wednesday, April 30, 2014). Students must be prepared to submit their “app” source code upon request.
- Students must provide two video submissions. Videos may be submitted using YouTube or VIMEO:
- “Application Demonstration Video” | A video in which students explain their “app” and provide a brief demonstration (NOTE: Maximum time is two minutes)
- “Developer Video” | A video describing what the students learned through the competition process (NOTE: Maximum time is one minute)
- All entries must be original in concept, design and execution.
WHAT DO I WIN?
- First Place Prize: Entry will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives website, www.house.gov
2014 IMPORTANT DATES
Saturday, February 1:“App” submission period begins
Wednesday, April 30: FINAL day to submit competition materials
Thursday, May 1 – Thursday, May 29: Judging period
Friday, May 30: Winning submission announced
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
- COMING SOON: “House App Contest” Rules
- Press Release: Congressman Boehner Invites Local High School Students to Participate in the 2014 Congressional STEM Contest
- Code.org
- 36 Resources To Help You Teach Kids Programming
- CodeAcademy.COM self-taught courses in HTML/CSS, Python, Ruby, and PHP
- MIT App Inventor tutorial to develop mobile apps on Android phones.
- Scratch a simple visual programming language
- Alice is used to create 3D animations
- Development Kits: