The Village Academy High School of Information Technology is one of 20 academies across the nation selected to join the Lenovo Scholar Network, which provides select National Academy Foundation (NAF) schools with a comprehensive mobile application development curriculum.

As part of the 2015-16 program, students in Village Academy’s Computer Programming and Game Design NAF pathway will be challenged to design and develop a mobile app and a business marketing plan for taking the app to market.

Students will present their work during an online competition in April. Select winners will share their projects at the NAF Next Convention in summer 2016.

Laptops and tablets

Village Academy will receive 14 Lenovo ThinkPad laptops and YOGA tablets to develop mobile apps utilizing STEM-based curriculum.

The devices will help students to code, test and develop their mobile apps and provide professional development to teachers to implement the curriculum.

Working in teams of two, students will have access to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab’s App Inventor – a web-based tool for creating Android-platform apps – to build and test their apps on Lenovo devices.

NAF and MIT will work together to provide technical assistance and develop support materials for teachers using the tool.

Through collaboration with MIT’s curriculum, NAF will grant access to a self-guided course for teachers through App Inventor and an in-person teacher training with virtual office hours held by MIT staff via Google Hangout.

– Submitted by Pomona Unified School District