NEW ORLEANS – Warren Easton Charter High School announced their selection for the 2015-2016 Lenovo Scholar Network. The program, now in its second year, provides select NAF academies across the country with a comprehensive mobile application development curriculum, promoting critical thinking, team building and analytical skills needed to create the next generation of developers and innovators.
Warren Easton is one of 20 NAF academies across the US selected to participate in the Lenovo Scholar Network during the 2015-2016 academic year, and the only school from Louisiana selected.
The Easton students involved in the program will participate in a project-based competition focused on designing and developing a mobile app and a business plan for taking the app to market.
Through the Lenovo Scholar Network, students from Warren Easton will participate in mobile app development experiences that provide them with knowledge, resources and practical experience to support their college and future career success. The Lenovo Scholar Network is designed to encourage greater interest among underserved high school students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects while providing them with the high-tech skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.
“After the success of our inaugural year, we look forward to continuing our partnership with NAF academies and their students through the Lenovo Scholar Network, providing students with the STEM skills needed to succeed in today’s workplace,” said Jason Mooneyham, vice president of Public Sector, Lenovo North America. “The high school students at the 20 academies selected to join the Lenovo Scholar Network in academic year 2015/2016 will participate in a robust mobile app development program designed to enrich their critical thinking, team building and analytical skills, and provide them with real-world learning opportunities. We are excited to enable this new class of scholars with the technology and skills they need to help them become the next generation of developers and innovators.”
Last school year, more than 400 hundred students from 10 NAF Academies of Information Technology participated in the Lenovo Scholar Network. This year, the program will expand to include students from across all of NAF’s career themes, including engineering, finance, health sciences, and hospitality and tourism.
As part of the program, students at Warren Easton will be granted access to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab’s App Inventor development tool, a web-based tool for creating Android apps, to build and test their apps on Lenovo devices. NAF and MIT work together to provide technical assistance and to develop support materials for teachers using MIT App Inventor.
This year, in conjunction with MIT, NAF will offer access to a self-guided course for Warren Easton teachers on App Inventor, an in-person teacher training, and regular “open office hours” with MIT staff via Google Hangout. Lenovo will provide each of the participating schools ThinkPad laptops and YOGA Android tablets – a total investment of more than $500,000 over the three years of the program. These laptops and tablets will be used to aid students in the coding, testing and development of their mobile apps and help teachers and mentors with the implementation of the curriculum.
