Hi Guest,

Here is some sweetness, from our global team to yours. We all made Banana Crepes during our MAD-learn Cook Party and you will see here team members videoing in from India, Ghana, Lebanon, and the United States, all making the same recipe, each one looking and tasting different (I am sure!). This is what I love so much about my job: connecting people in places that normally would not have been connected, and making magic happen, together.

What’s hAPPening

Interns’ Contributions Augment MAD-learn

Custom avatars and animated loading icons for the upcoming “new look” platform, blog posts, plans for student-led “APPy Hours” and the development of a new AR lesson designed for elementary level students are among the many contributions from the latest class of Summer Interns at MAD-learn. Their level of commitment during the summer months went well beyond our expectations. Huge shoutout to our 2021 Summer Interns: Saylonna, Advithi, Hajar, Jeffrey, Antonia, Wren, Sarah, Mahathi, Aishat, and Chinazom. Also, special thanks to Doreen Frempong-Baah for being the best Head of Internships a team could ask for!

MAD-spotlight!

MAD-teacher of the Month

Much of what has driven MAD-learn’s growth over nearly eight years has been linked to the vision of teachers who see the value of the program. Such vision has been realized at a variety of levels, from kindergarten class projects to full year high school CTAE programs. This month we salute another visionary, Dr. Chih-Chin Chou. She is Director & Associate Professor for the Department of Child & Family Studies’ Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling Program at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Chou’s vision was to bring MAD-learn to students who operate within the spectrum of autism. In 2018, this Fulbright Scholar worked with experts of indigenous studies in Taiwan to build on her expertise in social support for indigenous individuals with disabilities and to obtain a more global perspective of their lives. With MAD-learn, Dr. Chou’s idea was to have students create “choose your adventure” apps, predicated on social stories they create as a means of creating better awareness of actions and consequences. She is coordinating the efforts of two teachers who will be implementing the program this year with a small group as a pilot program. What a great start for this new partnership!

September’s Featured Tutorial

The video guide to MAD-store not only serves as a quick reference for both getting MAD-store on your phone or tablet, it also provides step-by-step procedures for previewing your app. This is a “must see” for students who want to have their apps shared with the global MAD-learn community!

MAD-family Continues to Grow

We want to thank schools that have either renewed their partnerships with MAD-learn or are just joining our MAD-family. We are so happy to know we will be continuing our work to help students at:

• New Prairie United School Corporation (IN)
• CRGroup Sponsorship (Canada)
• Jupiter Middle School (FL)
• Roosevelt Middle School (FL)
• Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (UT)

Don’t leave without…

…registering for—and spreading the word about—our next APPy Hour! Back by popular demand! We will share information about empowering student APPreneurs while experiencing a rapid-fire round of design thinking and mobile app development. The best app wins a $50 Amazon gift card! Thursday, September 23, from 5 to 6pm, Eastern. Here is the link to register. Hope to see you there!