RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (BUSINESS WIRE), June 26, 2012 – Lenovo, the world’s second largest PC maker, and the National Academy Foundation (NAF), are sending 18 high school students to NAF’s annual professional development conference, NAF Next in Washington, D.C. to present the mobile apps that they created as part of a mobile app curriculum pilot program and competition launched by Lenovo and NAF in January. The students attend Academies of Information Technology at Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, New York, Apex High School in Apex, North Carolina, Pathways to Technology Magnet High School in Hartford, Connecticut, Downtown Magnets High School in Los Angeles, California, and A.J. Moore Academy in Waco, Texas.
“We’re amazed at how these students rolled up their sleeves to create some truly impressive mobile apps,” said Michael Schmedlen, worldwide director of education, Lenovo. “By enabling them with the right technology and framework for learning, these doers demonstrated their creativity, programming skills and entrepreneurship.”
Student teams participated in a semester-long curriculum to develop a working wireframe, with many teams also creating business plans and implementation schedules for the Android-based mobile applications. The winning teams will present their mobile apps at the NAF Next Conference on July 18, 2012. Many of the apps will be available for the public to download via Google Play following the presentation. Student projects include:
- Grover Cleveland High School: Find Your Way – apps for people with disabilities using public transportation, Staying Fit, Come – a Dominican food recipe app
- Apex High School: Shop Local Raleigh
- Pathways to Technology Magnet High School: Social Onion (a professional networking app)
- Downtown Magnets High School; Recycle It, Encryption app, Moosh app (create your own flash cards), U.S.O. app – the ultimate student organizer
- A.J. Moore Academy of Information and Technology; KiwiPad (a text to sound app)
The participating schools are part of NAF’s network of career academies as well as Lenovo’s initiative to encourage greater student interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. To help implement the program, Lenovo provided a package of technology products to each school, including Android-based ThinkPad Tablets and large format ThinkCentre HD All-in-One desktops, among other items.
“We are very pleased with the results of the pilot program and excited to integrate the approach with our other 100 IT academies. Thanks to our collaboration with Lenovo, young people had the chance to apply what they are learning to a technology that is relevant and exciting to them. Strategies like this engage students, reduce the likelihood they will leave school, and increase the chances for them to excel,” said JD Hoye, president of the National Academy Foundation.
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About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company – and the second largest PC company in the world, serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com
About NAF
The National Academy Foundation (NAF) is an acclaimed network of career-themed academies that open doors for underserved high school students to viable careers. For 30 years, NAF has refined a proven model that provides young people access to industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. Employees of more than 2,500 companies volunteer in classrooms, act as mentors, engage NAF students in paid internships, and serve on local Advisory Boards. During the 2011-12 school year, 60,000 students attended 469 NAF academies across 39 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2011, 97% of seniors at NAF academies graduated.