Congressional App Challenge
We are pleased to announce the 2016 Congressional App Challenge (CAC), a competition designed to engage students from across the country in computer science and coding. More than ever before, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills, including computer science, are vital to compete in the workforce, to build a culture of innovation and to spur economic growth. The competition is intended to promote student engagement in STEM fields and to encourage them to pursue skills that will serve them throughout their careers. All elementary, middle and high school students up to seniors in high school are encouraged to compete against their peers by creating and exhibiting an app for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.
The 2016 CAC is open to any student who is in elementary school to students who are seniors in high school and who live or attend school in the Fifth Congressional District of Indiana. Students entering the CAC must submit their app to the competition during the Competition Submission Period between 12:00 p.m. ET on July 18, 2016 and 12:00 p.m. ET, November 2, 2016.
An expert panel of judges will evaluate submissions based on the following criteria:
- Quality of the idea,
- Creativity and originality,
- Implementation of the idea,
- User experience and design, and
- Demonstrated excellence of coding and programming skills.
The winners will be announced the week of December 5th which coincides with Computer Science Education Week. The winner of the Fifth District of Indiana's CAC will be featured on a display in the U.S. Capitol building along with other honorees from across the country.
More Information about the challenge can be found here. A special section for students interested in participating is online here.
Information about eligibility and how to enter can be found here.
Check out the entry from the 2015 CAC Winner, Mr. Grayson Faircloth from Fishers High School.
2016 Winner: Mr. Grayson Faircloth
App: FHS Genius, an app designed to connect students who have questions about homework with other students in their class or school and teachers for help.
Grayson and his winning app were featured in The Current in Fishers and WISH-TV in Indianapolis when I surprised him at school with the news that he had won the Fifth District Congressional App Challenge. Grayson's App was featured in a display at the U.S. Capitol Building along with other winning apps from districts around the country.