App of the Season is a free, virtual appathon hosted by the App Inventor Foundation that encourages dreamers, changemakers, and doers around the world to build mobile apps for a cause. The goal of the competition is to develop a mobile app using App Inventor that aligns with the competition theme of Community and best demonstrates technical skill, design, creativity, and impact. Submissions are now closed.

Timeline
THEME

The theme of this season’s competition is Community. Think of a cause that is meaningful to you and your community, and identify a solution to a specific problem related to that cause. Submissions should align with one of the following issue areas:

  • Arts & entertainment

  • Education

  • Health & wellness

  • Social justice

  • Sustainability & environment

We strongly encourage submissions from class projects or the AP Digital Portfolio. However, please do not submit replicas of apps that have been previously judged by our team during any MIT Appathon, MIT App of the Month, or another MIT App Challenge.

TRACKS

There are three tracks in the competition: two tracks for youth and one track for adults.

  • Youth Individual (1 person)

  • Youth Team (2-5 people)

  • Adult (1-5 people)

To be considered for the youth categories, all participants on a given team must be enrolled as students in primary or secondary school at the time of submission.

Participants can only be part of one submission. For example, if you submit as an individual, you cannot also be part of a team submission.

Submission Guidelines

To participate in the competition, you must complete the following items:

  • Publish your app to the App Inventor Gallery or upload your app’s .aia file to Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

  • Create a two-minute video

  • Create a Powerpoint or Google Slides presentation

  • Fill out the Individual Questionnaire once per team member

  • Fill out the App Submission Form once per team

Please see below for detailed instructions about each item.

App Upload

You have two options for uploading your app: 1) you can publish your app to the App Inventor Gallery, or 2) you can upload your app’s .aia file to Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. If your app uses an extension, you must use the second option because the Gallery does not allow extensions.

  • App Inventor Gallery: follow these instructions to publish your app to the Gallery

  • Shareable Link: from your app, click Projects > Export Selected Project to My Computer. This will download an .aia file to your computer. Upload your .aia file to a file sharing platform of your choice (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc). Be sure to make the link publicly accessible.

Video

Create a 2-minute video that contains the following:

  • description of the problem you chose to address

  • how your app addresses the problem

  • demonstration of your app's features

  • demonstration of someone from the target audience interacting with the app

  • English subtitles or closed captions

The video can be in any language, as long as it contains English subtitles. Upload the video to a platform of your choice (YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo, etc). You will be asked for a link to your video in the App Submission Form. Be sure to make the video publicly accessible.

Presentation

Create a copy of this presentation template using the platform of your choice:

  • Google Slides: follow these instructions to make a copy of the template

  • Powerpoint: follow these instructions to download the template and open the downloaded file in Powerpoint

Edit the presentation and enter information where it prompts you to. You will be asked for a link to your presentation in the App Submission Form. Be sure to make the link publicly accessible.

App Submission Form

Every team must fill out the App Submission Form, which is where you will submit your video, presentation, and link to your uploaded app. The form should only be submitted once per team.

Individual Questionnaire

Every member of your team must fill out the Individual Questionnaire, which asks about demographics, App Inventor experience, and media consent. Your team members may submit the Individual Questionnaire before or after the App Submission Form, as long as everyone submits by the final deadline (April 30, 2023). 

Judging & Prizes

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Creativity: How novel is the app idea?

  • Design: Do the app’s aesthetics make it easy to use? How does the user interact with the app flow?

  • Technical Skill: Does the app make use of well-designed technical components? Is the code organized and commented?

  • Impact: Does the app have the potential to positively impact another person or community in a meaningful way?

Winners will receive a certificate from the App Inventor Foundation and be featured in an official media release and social media posts from the App Inventor Foundation.

FAQ

  • App of the Season is taking the place of the former App of the Month challenge. Now hosted by the App Inventor Foundation, App of the Season will take place seasonally during the school year. The MIT App Inventor team will continue to host the annual Appathon during the summer.

  • Yes, participants may ask for advice. There is a section in the presentation where you must list who you received help from and what what type of help you received.

  • Yes, free and open source extensions may be used in app submissions. There will be a section in the submission form where you must describe any extensions you used, what the extension does, and where you got them from.

    We cannot accept submissions with paid or proprietary extensions at this time because the creators of such extensions often require that their extensions not be distributed to other users, which is a requirement for our judging process.

  • You may submit an app that has been entered in other competitions, as long as it has never been entered in competitions hosted by App Inventor (e.g. Appathon, App of the Month).

For more information, contact info@appinventorfoundation.org.