App-Challenge

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IEF Seeking Google Policy Fellows for Summer 2017

The Internet Education Foundation is hosting a Google Policy Fellow this summer. We’re looking for amazing candidates to work on any of our projects. More information about this year’s fellowship can be found in this Google post and on the Google Policy Fellowship Program page.

IEF projects include the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, the State of the Net Conference Series, the Congressional App Challenge, and the Internet Law & Policy Foundry.
Find more information the Google Policy Fellowship Program

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The 2016 Congressional App Challenge Launches

2016 CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE LAUNCHING JULY 18, 2016
Thousands of students expected to participate in second annual congressional effort to foster youth computer science skills

WASHINGTON, DC – The second annual Congressional App Challenge (CAC) will launch on July 18 and run through November 2, 2016. The CAC is a congressional initiative to encourage student engagement in coding and computer science through local app challenges hosted by the Members of Congress.

Representatives Ed Royce and Seth Moulton are serving as co-chairs of the 2016 Challenge, which has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House. “We’re incredibly proud that last year, 116 Members of Congress – 58 Republicans and 58 Democrats – hosted successful challenges. Students from 32 states across the country submitted over 500 original apps,” said Rhianon Anderson, Executive Director of the Challenge. “This year, we already have 132 Representatives from 38 states signed up, and we expect more to do so in the coming days.”

During the next 15 weeks, thousands of students in participating Congressional districts will create and submit their own original applications, that will be evaluated by panels of local judges. The Members of Congress will announce the winners in early December. Winners will be honored by their Member of Congress and have their apps featured on a display in the Capitol building. More prizes will be announced throughout the Challenge.

Recognizing the racial, gendered, and other disparities in the tech sector, the CAC emphasizes inclusivity. Deliberate efforts are made to include students from all backgrounds, including those traditionally underrepresented in the tech community. In 2015 for example, 30% of the participants were young women (double the industry average of women in technical roles), and this year, the Congressional App Challenge will strive to build upon those numbers.

The CAC was created because Congress recognizes how essential computer science and STEM skills are for economic growth and innovation, and that the U.S. is currently experiencing a dearth of adequately trained technical talent. By some estimates there are nearly a quarter of a million unfilled programming jobs in the US, right now. The CAC is a congressional effort to maintain American competitiveness, by proactively inspiring our youth and encouraging them to pursue these crucial skills.

The 2016 Congressional App Challenge is only possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: Capital One, Intel, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and the United Parcel Service. The Challenge also owes gratitude to Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Anna G. Eshoo, co-chairs of the Congressional Internet Caucus, who requested and supported the creation of the CAC. Challenge execution is supported by the efforts of our Advisory Board, which includes the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, the Computer Science Teachers Association, Girls Who Code, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, Capital One, and Cisco, as well as a broad coalition of CS-focused partners.

For further information about the Congressional App Challenge, please visit CongressionalAppChallenge.us. If you are interested getting more involved or in supporting the Congressional App Challenge, please contact Rhianon Anderson at [email protected].

MEDIA RELEASE
Contact: Rhianon Anderson, (202) 596-3594 ext. 1042
[email protected]
www.CongressionalAppChallenge.us

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2015 App Challenge Winners Announced

 

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2016

TEEN CODERS HONORED NATIONWIDE FOR CREATING ORIGINAL APPS IN 2015 CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE

WASHINGTON, DC — Hundreds of teen coders who created winning, original apps for the 2015 Congressional App Challenge are being honored for their tech skills and creativity by Congressional representatives across the country. More than 1700 high school students from 32 states participated in this year’s App Challenge. Students created original apps covering an enormous range of topics and uses, from saving water during a drought to keeping geographic track of loved ones, from connecting agricultural workers with jobs to helping food businesses efficiently donate extra food to community organizations. The teens took part in local competitions sponsored by 187 Congressional districts as part of the national challenge.

Not only was the Congressional enthusiasm for the Challenge enormous, it was also a bipartisan effort, with challenges being hosted almost exactly 50/50 by Democrats and Republicans. The Congressional App Challenge is an initiative of the House of Representatives to improve student engagement in coding and computer science. Teen winners are being honored this month in their home Congressional districts, and their apps will be featured on display for a year in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Winning apps can also be viewed online at http://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/2015-winners/.

“The hundreds of student coders who competed in the Congressional App Challenge demonstrate that we can inspire teens to pursue fields of STEM and computer science to meet the demands of a 21st century information economy,” said Congressional Representative Mimi Walters, Challenge co-chair.

“Reaching students in the tech pipeline, and showing them that their efforts and talents are valued, is a critical investment in their future and our economy. By supporting national and local efforts to engage students in coding and computer science — especially those in groups traditionally underrepresented in the tech community — we’re building a better future for all of us,” said Congressional Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Challenge co-chair.

The Congressional App Challenge is partnering with a growing list of STEM, education, library and community organizations to reach as many high school students as possible, with particular efforts to reach teens from groups that are typically underrepresented in technology. Partners that have joined the Challenge so far include the Computer Science Teachers Association, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, #YesWeCode, Girls Who Code, New Tech Network, Black Girls Code, appmyrep, Project Lead the Way, YouthHack, CodeNow, Public Library Association, and Technovation.

About the Congressional App Challenge: The Internet Education Foundation in Washington, D.C. organizes the annual Congressional App Challenge. Capital One generously served as principal sponsor.

About Capitol One: Capital One sponsored the 2015 App Challenge as part of its $150 million Future Edge effort to help more Americans get the skills they need to succeed in the future. Recognizing that the future depends on the investments we make in today’s students, Capital One is proud to support the mission of engaging more students in coding and computer science. For more information on Capital One’s Future Edge initiative, visit http://www.capitalone.com/investingforgood or join the conversation on Twitter @YourFutureEdge.

If you are interested in getting involved as a partner, or in sponsoring the 2016 Congressional App Challenge, please contact Executive Director, Rhianon Anderson at [email protected].

Contact: Rhianon Anderson, (202) 638-4370
[email protected]
Executive Director, Congressional App Challenge
www.CongressionalAppChallenge.us

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Copyright © 2016 Congressional App Challenge, All rights reserved.

Internet Education Foundation, 1401 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20005

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Stepanovich (Access), Samuels (Engine) Join Board of the Internet Education Foundation

The Internet Education Foundation, a 501(c) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting informed policymaking in the field of Internet and technology, is pleased to announce that Amie Stepanovich, U.S. Policy Manager for Access and Julie Samuels, Executive Director of Engine have joined the leadership of its board of directors. Amie is a leading advocate in the surveillance, cybersecurity, and privacy space. As executive director of Engine, Julie is uniquely positioned to represent the perspective of start-ups in the broader Internet policy dialogue. Both bring important balance to the Internet Education Foundation (IEF) board, which is designed to reflect the diversity of views among Internet stakeholders.

“Julie and Amie are thought leaders in the Internet policy field and both bring vast experience to IEF,” said Shane Tews, IEF’s board vice-chair. “Julie’s relationships and superior work on behalf of the start-up community will greatly benefit our organization. Further, as privacy and cybersecurity issues are discussed with increasingly urgency, Amie provides welcome insight from the standpoint of the advocacy community.”


About Amie

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Amie heads projects on digital due process and the intersection of human rights and communications surveillance. Prior to her position at Access, Amie was the Director of the Domestic Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, where she testified in Committee Hearings before the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as the state level. Amie also served as co-chair for the 2014 Computer, Freedom, and Privacy Conference and is the Committee on Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ Liaison to the American Bar Association’s Cybersecurity Working Group. She received a J.D. from New York Law School and a B.S. from the Florida State University.

About Julie

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Julie Samuels is a frequent commentator on tech and policy issues for national media, particularly in the patent space. She has filed briefs with the Supreme Court and testified before Congressional Committees. Julie came to Engine by way of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where she was a senior staff attorney and the Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents. Julie litigated IP and entertainment cases in Chicago at Loeb & Loeb and Sonnenschein.

Prior to law school, Julie worked as a legislative assistant at the Media Coalition in New York, as an assistant editor at the National Journal in D.C., and at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in Champaign, IL. Julie earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University and her B.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About the Internet Education Foundation

The Internet Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by public interest groups, corporations, and association representative of the diverse Internet community. IEF takes no positions on legislation or regulation. Rather, our organization serves as a neutral platform where thought leaders debate important technology issues that shape legislative and administration policy in an open forum. We vigilantly adhere to our mission to curate balanced and dynamic debates among Internet stakeholders. Our volunteer board members ensure that we dutifully execute that mission. Our projects include the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, the State of the Net Conference Series, The Congressional App Challenge, and the Internet Law & Policy Foundry.

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House Vote Clears The Path For November Congressional App Challenge Launch

App Challenge Logo

CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE LAUNCHING NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Congress Moves To Foster Youth Computer Science Skills, District by District

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the Committee on House Administration voted unanimously to clear the path for the second Congressional App Challenge when they passed Committee Resolution 114. The Resolution outlines the requirements for Officially-Sanctioned Academic Competitions, such as the Congressional App Challenge, which aims to inspire high school students throughout America to pursue computer science and STEM disciplines.

Immediately following the Committee’s markup, Congressional Internet Caucus chairs, Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Anna G. Eshoo, sent an official request to the Committee for the establishment of the 2015 Congressional App Challenge (CAC). The request also names the Internet Education Foundation as the official outside sponsor of the Challenge.

Now that we are fully authorized we are pleased to definitively announce that the second annual CAC is set to launch on November 9, 2015, and to run through January 15, 2016. During that period, U.S. high school students in participating Congressional districts will create and submit “apps” that will be judged by panels of local judges. The Judging Period will last from January 15 to February 15, 2016, after which the winners will be announced and honored by their Member of Congress. The winners’ apps will also be featured on a display in the Capitol building.

We are excited to announce that the 2015 CAC is being co-chaired by Representatives Mimi Walters and Hakeem Jeffries. In 2014, the CAC received submissions from students in 84 districts; this year, we aim to expand upon that success by doubling the number of submissions. Recognizing the racial, gendered, and other disparities in the tech sector, the CAC will also emphasize inclusivity. Deliberate efforts will be made to include students from all backgrounds, including those traditionally underrepresented in the tech community.

The CAC was created by the U.S. House of Representatives to engage U.S. high school student in coding and computer science. The CAC was created because Congress recognizes how essential computer science and STEM skills are for economic growth and innovation, and that the U.S. is currently experiencing a dearth of adequately trained technical talent. According to some estimates, the U.S. may be short as many as 3 million high-skilled workers by 2018.*] The CAC is a congressional effort to maintain American competitiveness, by proactively investing in our youth and encouraging them to pursue these crucial STEM-based skills.

The 2015 CAC is only possible thanks to the dedicated efforts of several key supporters: Committee on House Administration Chairwoman Candice Miller and Ranking Member Robert Brady, and Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Anna G. Eshoo, co-chairs of the Congressional Internet Caucus, who requested the creation of the Challenge and served as its inaugural co-chairs in 2014.

We expect that close to 100 Members of Congress will host youth coding competitions for their young constituents. This is a massive initiative that will require the assistance of all computer science and STEM stakeholders. To find out how your can help the Congressional App Challenge contact Rhianon Anderson at [email protected].

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* National Math + Science Initiative (https://www.nms.org/AboutNMSI/TheSTEMCrisis/STEMEducationStatistics.aspx)

MEDIA RELEASE

Contact: Rhianon Anderson, (202) 638-4370
[email protected]
Internet Education Foundation
www.congressionalappchallenge.org

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Congressional App Challenge Coalition Recognizes Winners of the First House App Contest

Inaugural Contest Year Exceeds Wildest Expectations for Students and Member Participation

Washington, DC — The Congressional App Challenge Coalition congratulates the winners and competitors in the first-ever House Student App Challenge. Starting in January 2014, over one-third of all House Members challenged high school students in their districts to enter a competition to create a software application (or “app”) for mobile, tablet, or other computing devices.

Members of Congress have started announcing winners in their districts over the past several weeks. We have aggregated a snapshot of some enthusiastic Members sharing the results of their respective competitions on social media here. We have also compiled some YouTube videos of these amazing and inspiring student App Challenge winners here.

The Congressional App Challenge Coalition urges the Internet community and those who believe in the importance of STEM and coding to highlight the accomplishments of these young programmers and to acknowledge the leadership of the Members of Congress who inspired them.

Tweet: Inspired by the work of students across the nation who took part in @congapps challenge. Here's a sampling: http://ctt.ec/YcG01+

The House Student App Challenge is designed to inspire student creativity and encourage participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education fields in order to address America's need to develop a domestic pipeline of STEM and computer programming talent, and thus fill critical roles in the information economy. Modeled after the Congressional Art Competition, the App Challenge was authorized by the House of Representatives in 2013 via an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 411 to 3. The inaugural App Contest started on February 1 of this year and ended in May. Throughout the competition, participating students were provided opportunities to engage with various STEM educational partners, located within their own communities, to mentor and assist them with their app development.

The House Committee on Administration, chaired by Congresswoman Candice Miller, administered the competition. Congressman Bob Goodlatte and Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Internet Caucus, also serve as inaugural competition co-chairs.

The App Challenge Coalition applauds the Members of Congress who supported students in this initiative to help future American STEM workers compete and succeed in the global economy. We have created a clearinghouse of participating Districts (by member) and their winners at www.congressionalappchallenge.us/members-of-congress/. Some of the initial winning apps include:

  • “Bakround Noise,” which allows users to upload audio files and organize them by mood;
  • “Trext,” which informs parents of their children’s whereabouts;
  • “State Puzzles,” which allows people to learn about digital encryption and decryption;
  • “Runbow,” a mobile phone game; and
  • “Pocket Einstein,” which teaches students math and science.

For additional information, please email [email protected] or call Tim Lordan at +1 202-638-4370.

About the Congressional App Challenge Coalition

The Congressional App Challenge Coalition proudly serves as the official STEM advisor to the House of Representatives’ House App Contest. We applaud the leaders of the House of Representatives who have pledged to inspire students in their districts by hosting Congressional App Challenges. We encourage you to join them as they challenge students to compete against each other in app design and programming, and to provide Members of Congress the opportunity to encourage and recognize the technical and creative talents of their young constituents. 2014 Sponsors include Samsung and Amazon Web Services. Founding Sponsors include AT&T, BlackBerry, Entertainment Software Association, Google, and Motorola.

CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE COALITION 2014 SPONSORS

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Congressional App Challenge Coalition
1634 I Street NW – Suite 1100 – Washington, DC 20006
www.congressionalappchallenge.us/
Find us on Twitter, #HouseAppChallenge