Congressional App Challenge

I am pleased to announce that my office is hosting a 2021 Congressional App Challenge.

The Congressional App Challenge (CAC) is a competition for students across the country to create and exhibit their own original software application for mobile, tablet, PC or other devices on the platform of their choice.  The CAC was launched in 2015 by the U.S. House of Representatives to promote student innovation and engagement in computer science. 

I know how vital it is to have computer science and coding skills today, and I want to encourage our young people to attain and sharpen these skills. My CAC is open to all high school students in the 22^nd Congressional District of Florida, regardless of coding experience or skill level.  Students may compete as individuals or in teams of up to four people, as long as two of the team members are eligible to participate in District 22.  To verify residency in the district, visit:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Participants must create a video demonstrating their app, and submit it online through the CAC portal.  A panel of independent expert judges will review the apps submitted from the 22^nd Congressional District and select a winner.  Judging will be based on the quality of the idea, implementation of the idea and demonstration of programming skills.  The winner will be featured on the Congressional App Challenge website and will be eligible to present their winning app at a “demo day” in the U.S. Capitol in front of Members of Congress and students from all over the country, expected to take place in the Spring of 2022.

How do I enter?

Students who wish to enter the competition must register and submit their app by 12:00 Noon on November 1^st 2021, however it is strongly encouraged that students register as soon as possible in order to take advantage of the free coding resources offered by the App Challenge.

Visit https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/  for more information and contest rules.  To register, click on the “STUDENTS” tab, then click on “STUDENT REGISTRATION”.  You will be asked to create a username and password for the CAC online portal, and once complete, you will be able to submit your entry through this portal.

Are there resources available to help me?

• Code.org
  
• CodeAcademy.COM self-taught courses in HTML/CSS, Python, Ruby, and PHP
• MIT App Inventor tutorial to develop mobile apps on Android phones.
• Scratch a simple visual programming language
• Alice is used to create 3D animations
• Development Kits:
• Apple iOS Developer Program
• Android- Develop for Android
  

Who may I contact at Congressman Deutch’s office about the CAC?

Feel free to contact Jen Raducci at (561) 470-5440 or by email at Jennifer.Raducci@mail.house.gov