MAD-learn has been designed to meet several educational standards across the United States. Some of these include the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), CSforAll, ISTE, and those of several states, including NY, FL, Georgia, Texas, and more. Check out some of our alignments below and reach out to us if you need alignments to another set of standards.
Click on any logo to see how MAD-learn is aligned with these standards:
MAD-learn’s alignment with standards for student achievement developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) represents a keen balance between 44 technical skill development and how such skills can be viewed as vital and transferable across not just STEM-related courses, but throughout the entire curricula.
Through MAD-learn’s mobile app development platform, students become Empowered Learners, Digital Citizens, Knowledge Constructors, Innovative Designers, Computational Thinkers, Creative Communicators, and Global Collaborators.
How MAD-learn Develops Empowered Learners
• Students begin the process by self-selecting a topic based on the recognition of an issue to be addressed, then deciding how best to do so by building an informational app.
• Students work collaboratively to create a professional-grade mobile app that can be distributed for public use or even monetized.
• Students participate in an authentic presentation format which gives them opportunities to develop a “pitch” to an audience that matters.
• The presentation format is framed in a competition in which winners can receive prizes that could include sponsorship of their app’s submission to Google Play and the Apple App stores.
• Students are empowered to be creators of relevant technology, rather than simply consumers of it.
How MAD-learn Develops Digital Citizens
• Students are encouraged to create mobile apps that follow a “social entrepreneurial” path, in that apps are created to help improve some aspect of the student’s community (school, neighborhood, or even the world).
• Students build upon existing knowledge of copyright and fair use; further, they learn how to include citations in a mobile app format.
• Students collaborate with each other on apps first, then create others on their own, within the confines of a secure server. Work from this point is private, and teachers can monitor any projects that are made public.
• Students learn how to apply citation standards to a mobile app format.
• During the research and acquisition phase, students assess resources and confirm the viability of content before including the information on the app.
How MAD-learn Develops Knowledge Constructors
• As part of the mind mapping process, students plan both what content will be relevant and make logical connections among various levels of detail for each concept
• Students learn how to find and process information, recognize viable sources, and prioritize the most critical elements for use in this unique type of information medium.
• After relevant concepts are identified, students self-assign responsibilities for acquiring viable information, citing it, and presenting it in a manner consistent with the medium they are using.
• During the ideation phase, students gain an appreciation for the importance of considering the “connectedness” of ideas.
• The program includes vocabulary that is integrated into the activities, allowing the students to understand the terminology as it relates to their hands-on experience, thus making the work more efficient.
• Vocabulary and practical applications are employed as students build HTML-based screens
How MAD-learn Develops Innovative Designers
• Students create mobile apps, most of the themes being of their own choosing. Often apps are created on behalf of an existing non-profit organization or for a
student-created cause.
• Students employ a wide variety of formats to create robust, content-rich screens. These include rich text, as well as photo, video, and sound files. Various content screens are created using written code (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).
• Mobile apps developed by each team are beta tested by other groups and
evaluated on criteria such as aesthetics, functionality, engagement, and
content (including form and accuracy).
• Students utilize an online app-building platform that is used by schools and
other organizations to update their apps. The same platform is also used to
support the process in-house.
• Mobile apps created by the students are programmed to run on both iOS and
Android devices. Design options are discussed and used for each of the systems
and orientations, and students choose which platforms they want to use.
How MAD-learn Develops Computational Thinkers
• Students must first confirm logical sequence in the development of their content and then decide which platform templates are appropriate for the information being conveyed on a given screen. Confirming the legitimacy of resources is also required.
• Collaborative groups are comprised of three members, and specific roles are assigned
to each. Individuals are each responsible for one major aspect of authentic mobile app
development, and they must work together to make sure all elements of the app complement each other.
• Discussions involving template selection and functionality for each help group make
intelligent decisions about how to best represent their ideas through their app.
• Students create a mind map to inform both functionality and content development of
the app then select appropriate templates from an online platform to create mobile app screens for the content.
• File management strategies such as file naming conventions, location, backup, hierarchy, folder structure, file conversion, tags, labels, and emerging digital
organizational strategies are most prominent throughout the building of content-rich screens and graphic design.
• HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are learned by way of reverse engineering-related strategies.
How MAD-learn Develops Creative Communicators
• The apps, themselves, serve as the conduit of concepts being presented and the unique format being provided to end users; the students also employ slide deck presentations and mirror their product using a reflector program.
• There are a variety of ways that students can communicate throughout the program. The overall goal is for students to effectively communicate the main idea in the form of an app to an end user. They must also present ideas to the whole group during the initial brainstorming session, work
collaboratively with peers to articulate how issues can be resolved and best possible outcomes be achieved and share experiences from the process of creating a finished product.
• Many schools employ some level of the MAD-Shark Tank approach for final presentations. This authentic competition-styled approach enhances the students’ presentation skills in a formalized manner.
• Students utilize an online app-building platform that is used by schools and other organizations to update their apps. The same platform is also used to support the process in-house.
How MAD-learn Develops Global Collaborators
•Before beginning the ideation phase of the program, students are charged to consider both traditional and social entrepreneurship-related topics for their app ideas. They are asked how a mobile app could serve their school, community, or the world.
• Students communicate with experts and peers, potentially anywhere in the world, in order to gain an authentic understanding of issues their apps may address. Even the global MAD-learn team is sometimes leveraged for this.
• Students sometimes work with peers throughout the country, or in other countries, on the same app, as is prevalent in the “MAD About Mattering”, “My Brother’s Keeper” and “Guardians of Heritage” projects.
• Students consider target audiences for their apps, considering how
that target can have a broader scope.
For all educators who are interested in learning more about MAD-learn’s curriculum and how it aligns with the standards in your state, feel free to contact us at success@mad-learn.com. The MAD-learn team is here to support and work with schools and school districts to meet all standard alignment requirements.
