about 10 years ago

Join us tonight for a live-streamed winner demonstration

On January 7, New York City’s Department of Education — the nation's largest school district — issued a challenge to the edtech community: help us close the middle-school math achievement gap by building great applications for students and teachers.

Developers responded with nearly 200 awesome submissions, and panels made up of educators, venture capitalists and technology experts have spent the past few weeks evaluating the apps. Now it's time to show off what they loved.

Please join us tonight at 7 p.m. EDT for a live stream of the Gap App Winners Demo Night. “Meet” the men and women behind these…

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about 10 years ago

Announcing the winners

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of NYC Schools App Challenge.

View all the winners in the Gallery.

Thanks again to everyone who participated and made the challenge a great success!

The NYC Schools App Challenge team


about 10 years ago

Important note about installation files

Please remember — if you are submitting an iPad, Mac or Windows desktop app, you must upload the appropriate installation file to your submission. 

iPad apps

For iPad apps, you must upload a zipped .ipa file provisioned for one of the following devices:

  • iPad (iOS 5.0.1) e21acf963c60919f6f0aa23d42cef5f06e25ee2d

  • iPad (iOS 6.0.1) 6a2cb1d4ba2d242db1db48c59c91744cebfc68a9 
    If your app requires an operating system above iOS 5.0.1, please provision your .ipa file for this device. 

Please specify in your testing instructions for which device you provisioned the .ipa file. While it is not required, we also encourage you to include a link to a website or…

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about 10 years ago

Submissions due Wednesday

The submission deadline for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge is Wednesday, April 10 at 5 p.m. EDT.

Don’t wait until the last minute to fill out the submission form. Read through our submission checklist and start your draft now to avoid surprises later on.

And remember — we review submissions on a rolling basis, so depending on how early you submit, we can tell you if anything in your submission is amiss and give you the opportunity to change it before the challenge deadline.

Questions?

We’re here to help. If you have any questions about the competition,

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about 10 years ago

Submission checklist

The deadline for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge is in one week — submissions must be entered by April 10 at 5 p.m. EDT!

Below is a handy checklist to help you wrap up your submission. Make sure you can answer “yes” to each of these questions before hitting the submit button.

Submission checklist

  • Did you confirm that your app fits into one of the official categories?
  • Did you confirm that your app runs on one of the accepted platforms?
  • If you’re submitting an iPad or Mac/Windows desktop app, did you upload the appropriate installation file?
  • If…

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about 10 years ago

Submission tips

The submission deadline for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge is April 10, 2013 at 5 p.m. EDT.

As your wrap up your submission, here are some tips to help you make sure your entry is eligible.

How to nail the submission process

  1. Ask others to test your app. You’re required to provide testing instructions with your submission. Are you confident that someone unfamiliar with your product can follow them? Send a copy to your friends and family, and ask them to test your app. It’s a great opportunity to get feedback and fix any bugs/links.

  2. Start your draft. Beginning…

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about 10 years ago

How to make a great submission video

Aside from your app itself, your submission video is one of the most exciting elements of your submission! In fact, it’s often one of the first things that judges and the public review.

That said, don’t be intimidated. A polished video is great, but the demonstration of your app is what’s most important.

You already know how to build a great edtech app. Now show it off with a great video!

Tips on making a great video

  • What’s your elevator pitch? Be sure to explain why your app is awesome in the first few seconds of your video. You can…

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about 10 years ago

Important reminder about the rules

Thanks for supporting the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge! As you wrap up your submission, we’d like to remind you of an important challenge rule.

Your submission may not violate any intellectual property rights. 

To be clear, it is not against the rules to use third-party tools, such as APIs, SDKs or other content/data, but you must follow the licensing requirements specified by each platform/creator.

Before you submit, please make sure that you own the rights to all parts of your submission, or are following the licensing requirements of any parts you may not own. This includes your submitted app…

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about 10 years ago

Eligibility Summary

The submission deadline for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge is fast approaching—submissions must be entered by Wednesday, April 10 at 5 p.m. EDT.

Keep the eligibility criteria in mind as you put together your submission. We’ve summarized them for you below, but please double check the Official Rules before you click the “Submit for Review” button.

Who can participate

  • Individuals who are at least 13 years old and legal residents of the U.S.
  • Teams of individuals (where all team members are at least 13 years old and legal residents of the U.S.)
  • Organizations that are legally incorporated in the U.S.…

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about 10 years ago

Meet the DOE: Common Core Edition

As part of its ongoing effort to help you better understand and build for the New York City Department of Education, Innovate NYC Schools will be sponsoring a series of small, informal chats with NYCDOE experts from different offices and divisions. The kickoff event is this Thursday!

Join us this Thursday

What: Learn about Common Core implementation and get your questions answered by two DOE experts who are responsible for building and sourcing Common Core instructional content.
When: Thursday, March 21 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, New York, NY 10010

Tracy Fray-Oliver will represent the Academic Evaluation…

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about 10 years ago

How to ace the challenge

The deadline for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge is fast approaching—applications must be entered by April 10 at 5 p.m. EDT!

Keep in mind the following tips as you wrap up your submission.

Start your draft

Beginning your draft early is the best way to avoid getting caught by surprise later on. Visit the Enter an Application page today and make sure you’re aware of all the requirements.

Once you start a draft, you can edit it at any time before the submission deadline. Fill out the easy fields now (like name, platform, category and submitter type), and you’ll…

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over 10 years ago

Join Innovate NYC Schools at these great edtech events

Education is the topic of some great events this month, and Innovate NYC Schools is behind several of them. Snag your last-minute tickets to these events, where reps from Innovate NYC Schools and ChallengePost will be in attendance.

Startup Weekend Edu

March 1-3
New York, NY

More than just a hackathon, Startup Weekend Edu is an event that starts companies—edtech companies. Check out this video for a sneak peak at what you can expect.

SXSWedu

March 4-7
Austin, TX

Join education professionals, industry leaders and policy practitioners for four days of engaging presentations and meaningful panels on the future of…

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over 10 years ago

Tips on developing for a middle school classroom

Thanks for supporting the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge! As you work on your apps, remember who you’re developing for—educators and students. Make your user experience as seamless as possible by keeping in mind the needs of both groups. 

For educators:

  • Give them ways to support individual student needs. It’s difficult to respond to the individual needs of 29 individual kids. Some need encouragement, others need discipline, and others just need repetition. If your tool can make it easier to teach kids individually, that’s great.
  • Give them ways to give feedback. To close any gap, educators need to know what…

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over 10 years ago

Why New York City schools need your help, from the Executive Director of Innovate NYC Schools

First off, thank you for participating in the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge. This competition is the first of its kind, and with it you have the opportunity to make a difference in New York City’s public schools. Innovate NYC Schools is thrilled to sponsor this challenge and inspire you to fill the gap.

Right now, 60% of NYC’s middle school math students aren’t at the skill level they should be. 46% are one grade level behind, and another 14% are two or more grade levels behind.

There’s no denying that given the right tools, educators can fix this disparity,…

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over 10 years ago

Important change to the rules

Thanks for supporting the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge! There’s been an important change to the challenge rules that you should be aware of.  

Installation files are now required

If you are submitting an app requiring download and installation, such as an app for iPad, or Mac or Windows desktop, you are now required to upload a ZIP file on the "Enter an Application" form including appropriate installation files.

If you are submitting a web or mobile web app, you don't need to upload any files.

For more information on the new requirement, please check out the …

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over 10 years ago

Informational webinar

Have you started brainstorming yet for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge?

Join Steven Hodas, Executive Director of Innovate NYC Schools, and Clever on February 5 at 4 p.m. for an interactive webinar to discuss the nation's first district-sponsored app challenge.

Get all the challenge details, the answers to your technical questions, and a look at best practices on integrating with school data. 

Space is limited. Register here


over 10 years ago

Welcome to the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge!

Thanks for registering for the NYC Schools Gap App Challenge! We're thrilled that you're interested in helping improve NYC middle schools by entering innovative applications and games. Submissions are due April 10, 2013. Keep your New Year's resolution to bid adieu to procrastination and get started today!

What's next?

  1. Get inspired: watch this video to see why NYC middle schools need your help.
  2. Learn more about gap apps.
  3. Gather ideas: visit our Needs & Opportunities page for a quick study guide on ways to make a big impact in middle school classrooms.
  4. Choose a category: a) instructional, or

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