Technology in the classroom continues to grow in schools across the United States, and it can be hard to keep up. An organization found that one way to stay current may be to keep young students involved.

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation and the Entertainment Software Association created Leaders on the Fast Track (LOFT) Video Game Innovation Fellow, an "award to encourage American minorities to pursue STEM field," said an article on eSchoolNews.com.

On October 2, 20 students, ages 15-25, met in Washington D.C. to share their video game and app prototypes that "address social issues in their community," the article's author, Michael Sharnoff, said.

"These future ed-tech leaders did a fantastic job of not only promoting STEM fields, but also dissuading the naysayers that the United States lacks innovation in education and technology," he said. "The fellows presented their projects to the Obama administration and will receive an innovation grant to help further develop their game or app."

Sharnoff selected seven apps that "stood out" after attending the presentation in Washington, D.C.. One of the apps he shared was called, "STEMBox", created by 15-year-old Nicolas Badila from Georgia. Badila's app helps young women learn about STEM fields. 

"STEMBox, Sharnoff said, is a virtual game where "young girls can select STEM professions such as a chemist and mix chemicals in a lab, an engineer and build robots, and an epidemiologist and cure patients."

“My two sisters inspired me to create this app,” said Badila. “I want to get girls interested in STEM at an early age.”

The app, the article said, is available in Google Play and in the Amazon App Store.

See the promotional video below. 

Read the full story. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor