{"id":9413,"date":"2023-05-16T22:17:53","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T16:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mad-learn.com\/blog\/?p=9413"},"modified":"2023-05-16T22:17:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T16:47:54","slug":"mad-news-for-may-at-the-us-capitol-with-student-app-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mad-learn.com\/blog\/mad-news-for-may-at-the-us-capitol-with-student-app-developers\/","title":{"rendered":"MAD-news for May: At the US Capitol with student app developers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Hi Guest,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You did it (almost there)! You made it through another amazing, eventful, inspiring, tiring, but soul-enriching school year. And your students wouldn’t be who they are or where they are without you. Thank you for your persistence and perseverance. We hope you have a wonderful summer break and maybe, just maybe, we get to see you at a summer conference soon? If you are attending ISTE in Philadelphia this year, make sure you join us to our co-sponsored Happy Hour with Teq.\u00a0Register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In mid-April, MAD-learn was honored to participate in the\u00a0#HouseOfCode Inspiration Fair<\/a>, one of several events for winners of The Congressional App Challenge at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. “To say it was a career highlight is an understatement.” – Alexandra Kummernes, Curriculum and Implementation Specialist at MAD-learn.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students (and their parents and teachers) from all over the country descended upon Capitol Hill in recognition of their achievement and success in The Congressional App Challenge. This annual competition \u201cinspires students to code, engages Members of Congress, and reaches every corner of America,\u201d according to its website. The competition also encourages students to pursue a career in computer science, a sector that is largely in need of qualified and interested candidates (for context, the field of cybersecurity is set to have a national security crisis due to a deficit in the cyber workforce within the next 10 years, according to multiple experts). Congrats to all the incredible winners!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI am beyond thankful to lead and work collectively with an amazing global team of veteran educators who are committed to expanding student access to STEM, Computer Science skills, technology creation, and App Development in every classroom. Being recognized for our hard work and dedication signifies the importance today of breaking down walls and intermingling curriculum in innovative ways.\u201d\u00a0– Alefiya Master<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being the world\u2019s largest awards program dedicated to edtech,\u00a0The EdTech Awards<\/a>\u00a0recognizes outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere. We are so happy that Alefiya was selected as a Leadership Finalist in The EdTech Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Earlier this month, MAD-learn had the privilege of judging student apps to support the StartUp Tech Showcase at Champion Theme Middle School in Georgia in partnership with\u00a0NFTE.\u00a0Business Education Teacher Aisha Harley introduced students to computer programming and entrepreneurship as part of her StartUp Tech course (designed by the\u00a0Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship<\/a>).\u00a0 During the Tech Academy Showcase, \u201cstudent teams present[ed] their functional mobile apps, business models and marketing materials in a tradeshow style competition,\u201d according to materials from the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAD-learn CEO spoke to students about their business ideas and apps – created using the MAD-learn platform –\u00a0 as a judge.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a phenomenal experience,\u201d said Alefiya.\u00a0 \u201cThe students were so engaged and enthusiastic, and had some fantastic app ideas.\u201d\u00a0 The apps varied in concept from wellness and self-care, keeping students and parents updated on school news and information to apps that would improve a customer\u2019s food delivery experience.\u00a0The Tech Showcase allowed students to merge coding with an entrepreneurial mindset – two of our favorite combinations here at MAD-learn.\u00a0 Shoutout to Aisha and her amazing work with students and to Marilynn Hollis, DeKalb County CTAE Coordinator for her leadership in promoting the intersection of\u00a0entrepreneurship\u00a0and CS!<\/p>\n\n\n

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MAD-learn is thrilled and honored to be accepted to the CSTA list of\u00a0Qualified PD Opportunities<\/a>. The CSTA PD review process is rigorous – each submission is reviewed by at least three different committee members and is scored using a rubric that looks for relevant criteria such as active learning, collaboration and scale, and sustainability. \u201cCSTA curates quality professional learning opportunities for K-12 computer science teachers. We aim to make it easy for CS teachers who have different needs and goals to\u00a0find relevant PD opportunities through an interactive web display,\u201d according to the website. Search MAD-learn on\u00a0this page<\/a>\u00a0to check out the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As we await the launch of the new MAD-store app, some great student projects produced on the new platform have already caught our eye. This month, we\u2019d like to give you a \u201csneak peek\u201d of what is coming up. There are many apps in the works, with students working toward the goal of scoring 90% or better to be considered for full publication. These apps from Dodgem Middle School students in Cobb County, GA, are definitely worth a look:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cool Man Must Know This!<\/a>\u00a0is one of four apps created in Sheri Dennard\u2019s math class. It is a simple app that \u201caims to teach the exponential equation.\u201d\u00a0This student also created an app about equations and graphs. It is aptly named\u00a0Exponential Growth! Factoring is Fun\u00a0when you check out this app! Learn about using the Box Method, and finding the Difference of Square Roots here.\u00a0Still, another nice-looking math app is\u00a0Quadratic Transformations. As the title implies, it will show you how to find the Transformations of a Quadratic.\u00a0One more made on the Legacy platform that we also have to give a shoutout to is a unique app called\u00a0Birdmaker<\/a>. Created \u201cprimarily for fun and just personal enjoyment\u201d,\u00a0 this app provides plenty of both!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We are very excited to introduce 20 new members to the MAD-learn Certification recipients! MAD-teachers are recognized for completing a minimum of 10 hours of class implementation with summative discussion and analysis. To be named a MAD-expert also requires becoming involved as a partner and serving as an ambassador and\u00a0mentor. The following names are recognized with congratulations and appreciation for their hard work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n