By Angela Maiers

Announcing “Mad About Mattering”

Such a simple phrase, but an incredibly powerful message. The first step to helping students reach their true potential is so show them how much they matter—to you, to themselves, and to the world.

I am so thrilled and honored to announce a new Choose2Matter partnership with two incredible innovators: Educator Vicki Davis of “Every Classroom Matters” and the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, and MAD-Learn, an organization who uses mobile app development to improve student and classroom participation.

We’re calling our project “MAD About Mattering,” and I can’t wait to get started! MAD About Mattering is a collaborative app-building challenge that is going to bring students together to create apps that will change the world for the better. By asking students to identify their heartbreak, we’re inviting them to work together to develop innovative solutions to spark real and lasting change in our world.

The amazing Vicki Davis was one of the first educators to use MAD-Learn in the classroom and saw the immediate positive effect it had on her students. Our hope with MAD About Mattering is that students across the country can join together and use their collective passion to create apps that matter alongside industry experts, mentors, and project investment.

MAD About Mattering kicks off on February 1 and will end with an online, “Shark Tank” style competition in May. To encourage even more participation after competition ends, a toolkit for teachers will be made available at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.

Make sure to check out our website for more information as this project continues and follow along on social media using #appsthatmatter. We can’t wait to share our progress with you!