Apple’s Swift Student Challenge to open in 2024 with new categories

November 8, 2023
update
Apple’s Swift Student Challenge launches in February 2024 with new Excellence Award winner categories
Introducing new Everyone Can Code resources to help educators design and develop apps for students
Apple’s Swift Student Challenge has given thousands of students around the world the opportunity to unleash their creativity and build real-world skills for their careers and beyond. Since 2020, students participating in this challenge have joined a global community of developers using Swift, the same programming language used by professionals, to create the next wave of breakthrough apps. I am. His next challenge will launch in February 2024 and will include a new category to recognize 50 outstanding winners who will be nominated for outstanding entries.
There is wide interest among students who want to learn coding and app development, and these skills are considered highly desirable, regardless of whether students intend to work in the technology field. In an independent survey of more than 1,000 U.S. students conducted in September, YPulse researchers found that 92% of students believed it was important to learn how to code, and 94% believed it was important to learn how to code. He revealed what he believes are important skills for the future job market. Additionally, students realize the various benefits of knowing how to code and build apps, including increasing creativity, solving local and global problems, and ultimately making the world a better place.
Awareness and access to coding and app development resources is critical for learners. The survey found that 85% of students are new to coding but want to learn to code, while 48% don’t know where to start. Apple’s Swift Playgrounds app is designed to help learners build their first app in Swift from the first line of code. This is a great tool for beginners to explore, learn, discover and experiment with coding and app development on her iPad or Mac.
“At Apple, we believe everyone can learn to code and build apps, and we’re proud to support and recognize aspiring student developers each year with the Swift Student Challenge,” said Apple Worldwide. said Susan Prescott, vice president of developer relations and education. & Enterprise Marketing. “Students learn coding skills to solve problems they care about, whether it’s building an app that helps colleagues identify mental health resources or supporting sustainability efforts on campus. We know you want to get started and want to know how to get started. Apple releases new coding resources for students and educators, collaborates with community partners on dedicated Swift programming, and brings you the best in 2024. We’re sharing an advance notice of the Swift Student Challenge timeline. We can’t wait to see the app playgrounds students submit next year.”
To help learners develop apps, Apple works with educators around the world. To support Swift Playground instruction for educators, four new Everyone Can Code projects provide steps to guide students as they develop critical skills while creating apps that solve problems they care about. Provides step-by-step resources.
Tina Lewis is a seventh-grade life sciences teacher and Apple Learning Coach in Montgomery Public Schools, Alabama, and a new Apple Distinguished Educator for the Class of 2023. She also runs her coding club at Brewbaker Middle School. “As a teacher, it’s important to her to create a safe space where students’ voices are heard,” Lewis said. She says, “With coding, you can literally create that space while fueling student curiosity and building resilience in the face of failure.”
Lewis taught herself to code in 2021 using Everyone Can Code educational resources and Swift Playgrounds on iPad with her students. One of her students participated in the 2022 Swift Her Student Challenge. “I am inspired by the creativity of my students and being a teacher who can light that light in children,” Lewis said.
In addition to working with educators around the world, Apple supports education partners in 99 countries and territories through community education initiatives such as the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3). NC3 provides hands-on professional development opportunities to prepare community, college, and high school instructors to teach app development using Swift. This year, the organization is committed to helping more students than ever submit app projects to the 2024 Swift Student Challenge.
“The Swift Student Challenge is a stepping stone for young talent, and we are building a pathway to their success,” said Roger Tadajewski, NC3 Executive Director. “Training in app development with Swift equips teachers with the skills to guide students and fosters an environment where curiosity is valued, creativity is encouraged, and every idea has a chance to flourish.”
A new project that anyone can code with
Apple’s new Everyone Can Code Projects is a step-by-step guide that helps educators guide students through every step of coding and app development, developing important skills while creating apps that solve problems they care about. Provide resources.
Everyone Can Code projects can be integrated into any subject area and are perfect for classrooms and coding clubs. They introduce students to SwiftUI, a modern way to build user interfaces with surprisingly little code, and use the latest app building technology with Swift Playgrounds. As students code, they can use app previews to see how the app changes in real time.
The four new projects currently available are:
- design a simple app: Students can follow the same steps as professional developers to prototype apps in Keynote, learn the fundamentals of app design, practice rapid prototyping, and collect feedback.
- Build with stacks and shapes: Students can take their first steps to building apps with Swift Playgrounds and learn the fundamentals of user interface design by coding self-portraits and artwork using SwiftUI.
- Building custom shapes: Using Swift UI and the About Me sample app in Swift Playgrounds, students learn how to design shapes, plot coordinates, and take their app’s interface to the next level by coding custom shapes. You can pull it up.
- Design an app icon: Students can learn and apply app design principles to create unique and memorable app icons that communicate their ideas. Practice rapid prototyping. Gather feedback. Then upload the icon to Swift Playgrounds to make it part of your app.
The Everyone Can Code project with Swift Playgrounds makes it easier than ever to teach and learn coding, app design, and app development on iPad and Mac. Perfect for moments celebrating coding skills around the world this season, like STEAM Day in the US today. Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code are celebrated in 180 countries and territories in December.
New resources to teach coding and app development with Swift Playgrounds are now available on the Apple Education Community, including four new Everyone Can Code projects. Educators can find resources for all skill levels and connect with peers here. Swift Playgrounds 4.4 is available now and includes support for Swift 5.9 and his SDK for iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.
Students are invited to submit their app playgrounds to the Swift Student Challenge during a three-week period in February 2024. Sign up at developer.apple.com to be notified when the challenge starts. Of the 350 overall winners, 50 outstanding winners will be invited to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California next summer, where each winner will have the opportunity to interact with each other and his Apple team. All winners will receive her one-year membership in the Apple Developer Program. This allows you to submit your app to the App Store and receive support from Apple.
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