Created by Shenica Bridges Mathieu of Shackles Off My

Learning on Teachers Pay Teachers, 2017

•You and a team of 5-6 other students will develop a
concept for a mobile app that solves a problem in
your local school or community.
Then, at the end of this lesson, you will be able to
demonstrate an understanding of this challenge by
identifying your team members, discussing the goals
of this project with your team, filling out the group
collaboration acknowledgement form, and
completing a short mini lesson comprehension quiz
with 80% accuracy.
•Develop Communication Skills through written,
visual, and oral language
•Improve creative thinking skills
•Promote teamwork
•Develop leadership and time management skills
•App developer
•Illustrator
•Computer Software Engineer
•Graphic artist
•Mathematician
You will have one month to work in a group of no
more than six people to plan, research, document,
and create an idea for an app that will help your
local school or community. The app should result in
an experience that delights, enlightens, and helps the
wholesome development of someone who is in your
age range who is facing a challenging problem in
school or in life in general. Your finished project
must include the following components:
● A problem statement
● A group process and design essay
● A 3 minute video that fully explains and
demonstrates your team’s vision for the mobile
app concept that you are trying to convey.
● It must also be good enough to sell, so thrown
together hand written pieces of work will not be
accepted. With that being said, the images used
must be original, so they may be illustrated by
hand, but the pictures must be scanned and
enhanced digitally.
No, you don’t have to know how to code for mobile
applications in order to do this challenge. You only
need to enjoy being creative. There are websites
that teach you how to code, but that is not required
for this challenge. Mainly, your essay/video
submissions will be rated based on how well your
team has researched and presented its concept.
You will use the engineering design process to come
up with your app concept:
• Define the problem by looking around your school
or community to brainstorm about a few different
problems your app could address.
• Research other apps that address these or similar
issues.
• Brainstorm about how you could improve on
existing solutions to these problems—or how you
could create entirely new solutions.
• Decide which problem to focus on.
• Develop your solution and its features.
• Assign tasks to your team members.
• Create your concept submission, which consists of
an essay and a video .
There are thousands of examples of previous app
challenge submission videos on YouTube. Check out
a few of them below:

Verizon Innovative App Challenge 2015-2016 - LanguaSign

(Best-in-State)

Pay It Forward - BEST IN NATION - Verizon Innovative App Challenge

2016

2015 Best in Nation Verizon Innovative App Challenge: Vocal

Crash Helper - Verizon Innovative App Challenge 2015 South Carolina

State Winners

Meyzeek -- Verizon App Winners

Tactillium: Virtual Chemistry Lab [Verizon Innovative App Challenge

2014]
What topic did you choose for your app?
Why did you choose this topic?
What is unique about your app?
What is the age range of the people that will probably purchase or
download your app?
Where will they be able to purchase or download your app?
How much time do you think it will take to use your app?
When should someone use your app?
Who will the app benefit the most?
Why will they benefit?
What features does your app have?
How did you create the drawings for your app?
How will you go about demonstrating your app concept? Will you use a
simulation or assistive technology such as Google Slides?
How are you incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering,
Entrepreneurship, Art, and Math in the design of your app?
What 3 sources of research did you use in order to get information for
the need for your app?
Did you use google forms to make surveys about the potential need for
your app?
Do you have any graphs to support the statistical reasoning for your
app? (see https://www.census.gov or https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/)
Remember you will be working as a team, so some people will be stronger in some things as others.
Follow this steps, and click on the links to the videos for more information:
1. After you have created an essay explaining your app, you need to write a script (watch this video if
you are clueless about script writing, and make a storyboard of what you will communicate on
video.
2. If you have never made a storyboard before, watch this video on Youtube: Intro to
Storyboarding
3. After you have written your script and drawn your storyboard, you need to decide who will direct
the video, and cast the group members who will appear in the video. It is very important that you
appear in the video. If you are uncomfortable with that, you may want to purchase a GoAnimate
account to try to make a cartoon of your video because you can’t use a free account to do a 3
minute explanation video.
4. Once you have decided who will be in the video, decide who in your group has the best camera to
use. It is best that you use a digital camera that is stand alone, but you may use your phone. It is
best that you shoot your clips in segments of time instead of all the way through so that you can
edit it. Also, please make sure that you have enough space on your phone to store the video until
you are able to edit.
5. If you have never shot a video with your phone, watch one of these videos on YouTube:

● How to Film Professional Videos with an Android Smartphone

● Ways to turn your phone into a movie-making machine (You don’t have to have all of these
things for the challenge video, you just need a good app an explanation.)
● How to Film + Edit on Your Smartphone | TECH TALK
● BEST FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES 2016 - 2017
● Best Free Video Editing Software
● Once you choose which video editing software you would like to use and you have your
completed video shots, go to YouTube, and search for how to edit video with whatever
application you decide upon and a video tutorial should come up.
Group Members Names:_______________________________________________

0-39 points 40-59 points 60-79 points 80-100 points

Essay Does not reflect a States or implies a Conveys a clear, Conveys a clear,
main idea or main idea, but is focused, and focused,
purpose; includes unclear, unfocused, accurate main accurate, and
content that is off inaccurate, and/or idea with significant main
topic underdeveloped adequate idea and includes
development unique,
Poor mechanics and/or support substantial
and grammar. Average mechanics insights that are
and grammar. Good mechanics fully developed
and grammar and supported
with no errors in
mechanics.

Video The content lacks The content does not Information is The content
a central theme, present a clearly presented as a includes a clear
clear point of stated theme, is connected theme statement of
view and logical vague, and some of with accurate, purpose or theme
sequence of the supporting current and is creative,
information. information does not supporting compelling and
Much of the seem to fit the main information that clearly written. A
supporting idea or appears as a contributes to rich variety of
information in disconnected series understanding supporting
the video is of scenes with no the project's main information in
irrelevant to the unifying main idea. idea. the video
overall message. contributes to
The viewer is understanding
unsure what the the project's main
message is idea. The project
because there is includes
little persuasive motivating
information and questions and
only one or two advanced
facts about the organizers that
topic. provide the
Information is audience with a
incomplete, out sense of the
of date and/or presentation's
incorrect. main idea. Events
and messages are
presented in a
logical order.

Essay total ________ Video total _________ Project total________

•This mini lesson was created to complement
Verizon Innovative App Challenge (TSA)
competition that is held annually. More
information can be found at the link below.
https://appchallenge.tsaweb.org/sites/appchallenge.tsa
web.org/files/VZ_VIL-AppChallenge_FAQ.pdf
1. Your idea should address a _________or need that

has affected your team or school personally, or that

your team is in a unique position to solve.

2. If you complete all of the requirements of the

rubric the maximum score will be _________

points.

3. Do you have to know how to code to participate in

this challenge?

4. Your essay responses should be thorough,

well-written, and edited for correct ________and

spelling.

5. What kinds of skills will you gain from working on

this project?
1. Your idea should address a _problem___or need

that has affected your team or school personally, or

that your team is in a unique position to solve.

2. If you complete all of the requirements of the

rubric the maximum score will be _200______

points.

3. Do you have to know how to code to participate in

this challenge? No

4. Your essay responses should be thorough,

well-written, and edited for correct

__grammar__and spelling.

5. What kinds of skills can you gain from working on

this project? The answers will vary but teamwork,

STEM skills, leadership, design, video etc. will work.

1. Assemble your team members
2. Discuss your individual skills (e.g. essay writing,
editing, talking, writing scripts, drawing, making
videos, being organized, leading teams, etc.)
3. Decide who will be the leader in the following roles
and write those people’s names down by their
roles:
Project Manager (the team leader):______________
Assistant Manager (assists the leader): _____________
Application Developer : __________________________
Secretary (writes the essay) : _____________________
Video Director: ________________________________
Storyboard Artist: ______________________________
Video Editor: ___________________
After you have done this, you will need to complete the
project plan of work log.
Please note that you have to assist in all areas of the
project regardless of your title. No one should be
sitting around being lazy. The main person is just the
one responsible for that component.
 A plan of work log is a detailed accounting of how an individual or group
plans to accomplish a specific task, approaching a project or pitching a new
business concept. You must document your activities and milestones for
your project below.

Date Task Time Involved Team Member Notes/Comments

Responsible
(What date do (What are you (How many
you plan to do doing, or what days, hours, (Write the (Your comments
the planned do you plan to or minutes will person or can be written
task?) do to achieve it take to people who during your plan,
your goals?) perform the are or documented
task?) responsible after the plan. For
for achieving example, you
the task. It can may want to
be one make a comment
person, all about a group
group member being
members or a absent with a
few.) note to call
him/her. )
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