Tutoring app from high school group wins Switch Philly edtech

First it was a hackathon, then a finishathon and then, last week, five edtech projects that have grown since February demoed to a panel of judges to show practical technical solutions.

The annual judged startup demo event Switch Philly, which Technically Philly organizes, took an edtech focus during Philly Tech Week in a partnership with the Philly EdTech Meetup.

In the end, a high school team took top billing and earned a host of support.

• Temple MESA: PHA Tutoring Application [First Place] — An app that encourages community students around problem sets while guiding students towards tutors on specific subjects.
• Solar Sunflower [Second Place] — Arduino-powered sensor system for green playgrounds displaying real-time data on the web.
• STEM Everywhere — STEMEverywhere is a one-stop shop for free resources for teachers and students. Our goal is to increase interest in STEM. Among underrepresented minorities and girls. We are building a mobile-friendly website. We will also build a mobile app.
• Fantasy-Ed — Fantasy Ed is a gamification of education app that uses fantasy football’s point system, but with an educational spin. Students are put in teams of four and face off weekly for wins and losses, ultimately a championship.
• Safest Way — An app using crime data and mapping to find the safest way to walk to school.

Judges were Donna Murdoch, a National Advisor for University of Phoenix (and Philly EdTech Meetup founder), Christian Kunkel of Jarvus Innovations and AT&T Marketing Vice President Tiffany Baehman.

The event was profiled by the Inquirer here.