Introducing the Gates Foundation's College Knowledge Challenge

Original author: Rip Empson
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The competition was launched back in September by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with the goal of attracting entrepreneurs and developers to create completely new, stunning educational applications on the Facebook platform. Called the College Knowledge Challenge , the competition began with the EdTech Hackathon, co-hosted by the Gates Foundation and Facebook at the headquarters of the social network in Menlo Park.

The competition encouraged developers of all ages to create applications that would help future college students at the stage of choosing an institution, entering it, and also providing financial assistance.
Hackathon members who shared the initial prize pool in September entered the fray for the top prize of $ 100,000. Finally, the Gates Foundation and Facebook announced 21 projects, the creators of which will take the winnings with them.

But before proceeding with the announcement of the winners, it is worth answering the question that some readers have: why it was decided to support the creation of applications specifically for Facebook, while there are more serious problems in the education system. Why, for example, not spend this money on the introduction of Wi-Fi in schools, which would help poor students with Internet access and the development of computer technology?
This question is answered by Stacey Childress, Gates Foundation Deputy Director of Education. She said that social networks have become the main means of building a circle of friends outside the immediate environment, which is especially important for poor students. Thus, Facebook contributes not only to academic success, but also stimulates perseverance in students. Thanks to the social network, students feel more involved in social life and are much more willing to stay in school.

In turn, technology has proven its ability to democratize access to information, as well as its dissemination. Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s vice president of public policy at Facebook, added that Facebook’s Open Graph sharing system allows students to instantly share any content with one another without any hassle. Thus, according to Elliot Schrage, the involvement of a social network in the educational process will radically change the life of students and the way they study.
The main focus of the competition was focused on applications for low-income students and freshmen in particular. It is worth noting that many winners seek to earn income from a growing trend in educational technologies, personalization of the educational process, focusing just on freshmen and low-income students.

Now is the time to move on to announce the winners. At the time of the publication of this article, the official source provided information on only 20 projects without a single application from New York students called WOOP, which, I hope, will not make you feel left out. So, to the winners.

Applyful. The application is a platform for choosing a college. Applyful helps applicants to collect, accumulate and exchange information among themselves about colleges of interest to them, as well as unite in peer groups, establishing interaction with each other even at the entry stage. This approach allows future students to make a more informed choice of educational institution. At the moment it is at the testing stage.

Career Connect from ConnectEDU and CareerVillage. This app was born as a collaboration product from ConnectEDU , a company that connects students and career opportunities, as well as CareerVillage, creator of social games preparing students for a career. The resulting application gives students the opportunity to receive answers through a social network to questions on planning their college education and further career development. The application provides a search for questions; each user of the application can answer the question.

CoachMe by Beyond 12- The application is designed to provide college students with automatic alerts on their mobile phones and Facebook accounts to keep their users up to date on deadlines for any assignments. For completing each task on time, the student will be rewarded with a special mark, after which he will be able to share his achievements with peers. Ultimately, CoachMe aims to help students learn skills and habits that increase their chances of success in college.

College abacus- A project that provides the opportunity to compare the prices of higher education in educational institutions around the world. Available in Spanish and English, College Abacus allows prospective students and their families to find and compare tuition information (tuition minus subsidy provided) in more than 2,500 schools.

College Connect from Michigan, the University of Michigan and the Oxford Internet University is an application designed to create a clear image of the institution on Facebook for students. By identifying individuals who can become a reliable source of information about the college, as well as providing a search for information, College Connect is aimed primarily at freshmen who want to keep abreast of college life. The application will be developed and evaluated by Bernie Hogan of Oxford Internet University, Christine Greenhow of the University of Michigan and Nicole Ellison of the University of Michigan.

CollegeGo by The College Board- It is immediately worth noting that The College Board is a non-profit organization whose goal is to connect students to the college's capabilities and achieve their success. The application from this organization offers students an effective tool for planning their education: the educational process, learning a profession, getting to know a college and paying for tuition. The application implements a step-by-step approach to the planning process and a visual representation of progress for each student, and also adds its own system of support and encouragement of students.

CollegeZen by The College People- A product from a young startup from Pittsburgh founded by Wahab Owolabi and Neil Soni. The creators of the startup are trying to increase the availability of colleges and provide an effective means of administering education. So, their first social application CollegeZen simplifies the process of finding and selecting the right college, as well as paying for education, especially for promising students and those parents who consider college the best place for any student.

Degree'd by Nuvana and 10,000 Degreese - created by two companies Nuvana and 10,000 Degreese, the application uses a game framework to provide low-income students and their families with a complete curriculum. Using a learning mechanism through the game, which combines actions and obtaining useful information, Degree'd gives students access to the necessary information and helps them achieve success in education.

The FAFSA Community by NerdScholar- This application will bring together students, their parents and administrators using the Facebook platform. The project aims to increase the financial literacy of students through the involvement of the social network community and peer groups, which will help students, especially low-income students and freshmen, achieve their goals in college. It is also worth adding that NerdScholar is a product of NerdWallet, a company that helps students make more informed decisions about choosing a higher education institution.

Unigo's FastForward is a project through which any student can plan their future. The application includes tools for visualizing possible career paths, drawing up a personal action plan and placing the necessary resources to start actions and implement your ideas. FastForward allows you to track your career path using Facebook Timeline and your own photos. Unigo adds FastForward to its growing collection of tools as the largest college resource.

GradBadge by GradGuru - GradGears 'mission is to increase students' chances of successful college graduation and accelerate achievement of their academic goals. The company's first product, GradGuru, is a “pocket advisor” associated with the social network community. Earning points from their peers in this application, students will understand what behavior and what actions will lead them to a successful college graduation. GradBadge uses the GradGuru, Mozilla Open Badges and Facebook platforms.

I'm First by The Center for Student Opportunity- Center for Student Opportunity (CSO), a national nonprofit organization that supports freshmen during college and college, whose app collects stories and stories from current students to inspire and support students preparing to become students. Thanks to this application, it will be easier for future students to adapt to a new life and achieve success in college.

Logrado Mission Control Center - Logrado is both a social and mobile help system that helps students enroll, adapt, and successfully complete college. Using their mobile phones or Facebook accounts, students gain access to a list of activities that help them prepare for college. Mission Control uses the Facebook platform and allows students to collaborate with their peers, as well as create groups of family members, friends, peers to gain support and increase their chances of success. Logrado provides especially low-income students and freshmen with reference information, a way to communicate and personalized support.

PossibilityU by Cambium Enterprises- A project designed to help future students choose a college that fits all the criteria: academic, social and financial. Often students too hastily make one of the most important decisions in their lives, spending no more than an hour on thought. PossibilityU offers tools for more detailed analysis and informed decision making. The application provides a personalized search, as well as a visual representation of important trade-offs in the decision-making process, thereby allowing the student to be constantly informed.

Raise by Raise Labs - Raise Labs has rethought how scholarships are awarded and distributed, particularly for low-income students and freshmen. The Raise platform allows students to earn “micro-scholarships,” compared to college scholarships starting in ninth grade. The basis for payment is their individual achievements and progress achieved at the end of school. Raise helps students fulfill their college ambitions more confidently and adds transparency to the scholarship distribution process.

Step4College - the application aims to make the college entrance process more transparent and understandable for each student, especially for the poor. The team plans to build an application that provides an exhaustive list of college preparatory tasks that will take into account each student’s personal needs and needs, including administrative requirements. The application will use social media platforms such as Facebook, so students can post their achievements in completing tasks, chat with friends and gain access to additional features.

Tractus Insight by Tractus Education- The app allows students to create a personal college list. The team combined in one application information from various manuals, the advice of a college consultant and people whom the student trusts so that he, his family and counselors get the opportunity to study and choose the most suitable college.

The Transfer Bootcamp from The Melville Institute is an online guide for college students who wish to continue their studies at a university. The application helps students draw up an individual college education plan, identify the main tasks, finish college on time, choose the right courses for university preparation and better know their opportunities to receive funding for education. Transfer Bootcamp aims to make university education more accessible to millions of students.

What's Your Road from Roadtrip Nation - Roadtrip Nation was born in 2001 when a group of friends decided to go on a trip with a very simple goal: to communicate with people who do what they love, then it would become much clearer how to build a happy life. What began as an ordinary trip eventually resulted in a series consisting of many video interviews, as well as various activities and even training programs that help students, including disadvantaged ones, find their right life path. The latest brainchild of Roadtrip Nation is the What's Your Road app, in which students can use Facebook's platform to track different life paths in accordance with their aspirations and even interact with mentors in these areas.

Zombie College byGet Schooled is an application from a non-profit organization that attracts and motivates students using technology, media and the introduction of modern culture in the lives of students. Zombie College combines both gaming and educational moments through which future students in a game form will be able to go through all the steps necessary for entering college.

How do you see the applications? What are the most promising?

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