MAD-learn hosted its first-ever Student Showcase during #CSEdWeek. Seven incredible students around the country presented diverse apps to an audience of educators, friends, family, and students. These gifted students aged from 5th to 11th grade proudly shared the apps they created with poise and maturity.
Syeda Tanzim, an 8th-grade student at Barber Middle School in Cobb County School District and MAD-learn intern, presented her app “Unify” which she created with two other classmates in their computer science class. Their app earned them the prestigious title of gold winner of the 2023 Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) CS4GA App and Design Challenge and was lauded for community advocacy, overall design, and innovative thinking. Tanzim’s presentation touched on the purpose of the Unify app which is unity and creating awareness about hate crimes. She also shared various aspects of her thoughtfully-designed app including how to prevent racism and hate crimes.
Jessie Coker, a student of Coldspring Oakhurst CISD showcased an app about one of her passions, gymnastics. The app, called Flippin Fun, describes various forms of gymnastics and ways to help you learn the sport. She received positive feedback from the audience as she talked through different app screens with pictures and videos that made her app more appealing.
Anthony Bruno of Oceanside Schools shared “Vacation Finder,” an engaging app about finding a vacation that’s the best fit for you. The app included vacation destinations such as Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, and Disney World and what to expect from each of them if you decide to visit. He created this guide to make vacationing easier for everyone, which the audience found relatable and helpful.
Camping enthusiasts loved Gabe Lowe’s app “Care to Go Camping” which shows users how to make camping affordable and equitable. Gabe, who was introduced to MAD-learn through a Coding with Culture Summer App Camp, was inspired to create this app because he loves going camping with his family and wanted others to experience the joy of camping without breaking the bank. Audience members were particularly excited and impressed with the level of research that went into carefully building this app.
“Cake It”, an app by Tabitha Bourlon of Lufkin Middle School, caught the attention of many for its creativity. This app – created in a game style – allows users to design their own cake. Tabitha shared that the inspiration behind making this fun app stemmed from her love of designing cakes. She wanted to give first-time bakers inspiration for creating their own cake designs by making it exciting and easy.
If you love macaroni and cheese, Macci by Rachel Savell of Coldspring Oakhurst CISD is the perfect app for you! Learn about different ways to make this delicious meal and discover exciting recipes and toppings. Rachel’s impressive presentation was applauded by the audience, who loved discovering new ways to make Mac n cheese!
Our final presenter for the event, Jalexy Arellano of Lufkin Middle School, demonstrated her love of sports with “Sport of Fame”- an app about different sports and their most famous players. Fun fact: Jalexy’s app was the winning app during MAD-learn’s app camp at her school earlier this year. When asked what she learned through creating this app, Jalexy said “I learned how to code, how to make an app, and had a fun time doing it.”
It was a treat to hear directly from students about their experience with MAD-learn and mobile app development and how much they learned through the process. We were so excited by the incredible students who presented and the positive feedback from teachers, friends, family, and attendees, that we’ve decided to make it an annual event! We’re so proud of all our student presenters KUDOS to their amazing teachers for helping the MAD-learn team make this event a reality!