The Jimmie Johnson Foundation announced that Lowe’s and Samsung will partner with them again this year to Team Up for Technology, providing one K-12 public or charter school in the United States with a $48,000 technology makeover.

Team Up for Technology is open to all K-12 public or charter schools in the United States. Nominations may be submitted at jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org or Twitter, twitter.com/jjfoundation48, now through Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. ET.  Ten schools from the initial nominations will be selected as semi-finalists and asked to submit a video application. The final winner will be selected based on those applications.

“Through the foundation’s work the past few years with public education, we’ve seen the technology need that schools across the country are facing,” said five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who along with his wife, Chandra, started the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in 2006. “The partnership with Lowe’s and Samsung allows us to make a sizable impact for a school. The video submissions that some of the kids come up with are so creative and it’s neat to see them take an interest in their educations.”

Now in its third year, Team Up for Technology has awarded $96,000 in cash and technology to two deserving schools.

 “Team Up For Technology has completely changed our ability to deliver high quality, rigorous instruction to our students,” said Scott Larkin, principal at New Hanover Township School, which won the $48,000 grant in 2012. “Thanks to the Jimmie Johnson Foundation's generosity, we have forged a partnership with Samsung that is redefining our use of technology in the classroom.”

Schools may be nominated by multiple individuals, however, individuals may only submit one nomination. Nominations submitted using Twitter are limited to a single tweet of 140 characters, should outline why a school is need of a makeover and must include #teamup4tech. The tweet may include a photo but the photo link must be contained in the single tweet.

In its 2013 Vol. 2 Wireless Network Quality Study, J.D. Power ranked Verizon Wireless highest in network quality among national providers in six regions, covering 48 states, that it surveyed during the first six months of this year. This was the first time since the regional studies began in 2004 that one provider ranked highest in all 6 regions.

 

J.D. Power & Associates regularly surveys users of wireless service in 48 states about their experiences with calls, messages, emails, and Web connections on their mobile phones. For more information about J.D. Power and the results of its Wireless Network Quality Study, check out http://www.jdpower.com/content/press-release/sP8rA2r/2013-u-s-wireless-network-quality-performance-study-volume-2.htm

 

Launched in December 2010, Verizon's 4G LTE network is available in 500 markets to more than 95 percent of the population and covers nearly 301 million people in the U.S. and more than 99 percent of the company’s 3G network footprint.

 

http://news.verizonwireless.com/news/2013/08/jd-power-wireless-network-quality-study.html

T-Mobile US, Inc. will launch Samsung's first wearable experience, Galaxy Gear, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 nationwide October 2. Paired with the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch introduces an entirely new type of mobile experience by intelligently connecting and sharing everyday moments with quick glance notifications, hands-free calling, music control and an array of innovative features.

"The next generation of Samsung Galaxy products are pushing the boundaries of mobile innovation and how people manage and enjoy their lives," said Jason Young, vice president of product marketing for T-Mobile US. "T-Mobile is pushing boundaries too. Only America's Un-carrier offers the latest Samsung innovation with the boldest offers in wireless - no annual service contracts, unlimited data on a nationwide 4G network and the freedom to upgrade affordably when you want, not when you're told with JUMP!

The Galaxy Note 3 will be available for $199.99 down with 24 equal monthly device payments of $21.00 with T-Mobile's Simple Choice Plan and Samsung's Galaxy Gear will cost $299.99 (plus taxes and fees). To be the first to know when T-Mobile will start taking orders online for the Galaxy Note 3, customers can sign up for alerts at https://explore.t-mobile.com/samsung-galaxy-note-3.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – The Verizon Foundation, in partnership with the Technology Student Association, has opened the 2013-2014 Innovative App Challenge. The challenge give middle and high school students a chance to develop a concept for a mobile app and bring it to market.

The mobile app design competition aims to engage students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects and empower them to create STEM-related app concepts that solve real-world problems in their community or school. Students have a chance to win Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets courtesy of Samsung Telecommunications America, cash grants of up to $20,000 for their school, and the opportunity to team up with app development experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab to build and bring their apps to life. Verizon will help winning teams bring their app to the Google Play store, available for download.

The fastest-growing careers in the United States are STEM-related, yet the country is not graduating enough young professionals in these fields to meet this need. As a result, as many as 3 million STEM jobs have gone unfilled, according to STEMconnector’s “2013 EdTech – Revolution in Education” report.

To address this issue, the Verizon Foundation and TSA launched the inaugural Innovative App Challenge last October. More than 1,000 schools from every state and Washington, D.C., registered for the competition, and 471 teams submitted app concepts. The competition engaged more than 3,000 boys and girls from major cities to rural areas including many underserved communities. Nearly 60 percent of the winning team members were girls.  

The competition can be a career game changer for students. “My future has been decided for me.  “Because of the App Challenge I know I want to be an app designer,” said 11-year-old Sherly Quezada, after she and her teammates from the Bronx Academy of Promise were named one of the Best in Nation winners of the 2012 App Challenge.

Justina Nixon-Saintil, director of education and technology programs for the Verizon Foundation, said: “We created the Verizon Innovative App Challenge to encourage students to collaborate, get creative and use their STEM knowledge to come up with powerful answers to local, everyday problems.  The inaugural challenge provided all that and more, as we saw some amazing app concepts and heard inspirational stories from students and teachers. We’re eagerly awaiting the fresh, innovative ideas that the student teams will bring to the second challenge.”

Dr. Rosanne White, executive director of the Technology Student Association, said: “The Verizon Innovative App Challenge is a unique competition whereby winning teams of students and teachers can advance the goals of STEM education through the development of mobile technology. Thousands of middle and high school students will have the opportunity to showcase their problem-solving, research, design and programming abilities to solve a community need or problem.  TSA is looking forward to a second year collaborating with the Verizon Foundation, Samsung and the MIT Center for Mobile Learning so that any student can reach his or her  STEM potential.”

What’s New in 2013 – More Ways to Win

This year, the Verizon Innovative App Challenge offers more chances to win for teams of five students in grades 6-12 with a faculty advisor.  The winning teams, which will be chosen by an expert panel of judges, will include:

— Twenty-four Best in Region winners from the West, Midwest, South and East.  Each Best in Region school will receive a $5,000 cash grant plus virtual training on coding and support from the MIT Media Lab’s app development experts to help it build its app concept.

— Eight Best in Nation winners, selected from the pool of Best in Region teams.  Best in Nation schools will receive an additional $15,000 cash grant, and each winning team member will receive a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. Additionally, the MIT Media Lab will provide onsite and virtual training on coding and support to the Best in Nation teams as they develop their apps, and Verizon will help bring their apps to the Google Play store.  The Best in Nation winners will present their apps in person – on their new tablets – at the 2014 Technology Student Association National Conference in Washington, D.C., next June.

— Three special Best in Category winners, which will be recognized for their app concepts to help solve problems in education, healthcare or energy management – focus areas for the Verizon Foundation. 

Submissions will be accepted now through Dec. 3. Teams can submit their app ideas, access tips and instructional videos on app design, and learn more about the Verizon Innovative App Challenge at www.verizonfoundation.org/appchallenge.