Dive Brief:

• Eighth graders in Plano, TX, won a Verizon Innovative App Challenge award for an app concept, dubbed Mind Glass, that would help dyslexic students.
• The Rice Middle Schoolers are one of eight winning teams that won $20,000 for their schools and the chance to further develop their apps with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab.
• Mind Glass would allow users to change the background color, text color, and text size on Web pages and mobile devices to make it easier for individuals to read. As eSchool News describes the concept, it's something like prescription glasses for a computer.

Dive Insight:

Verizon can be added to the lengthy list of big companies pushing innovative STEM thinking through challenges that get students not just learning about computer science, but actually digging in and starting to code. What's interesting about this particular project is it has two great education purposes. Not only does it address the very real and difficult issue of learning disabilities like dyslexia, but it gets young students engaged in the process of creating digital solutions for those problems. According to eSchool News, 20% of students with learning disorders drop out of school, making the need for real solutions and options even more clear.