Westlake High Students Developing Award Winning App

WESTLAKE, OH - We live in an increasingly digital world. Five Westlake High School students are embracing our digital leanings and have developed an award winning app. The group won a Best in State award from teh Verizon Innovative App Challenge.

The group created the ALERT U app, a way to combat urgent situations as they unfold, with an emphasis on educational settings. Seniors Sneha Ramachandran, Carter Hoon, Leah Choban and Jordan Sherwin, along with junior Jill Eddy, created the app.

Basically, the app works like this: the interface is a tracking map where users can pinpoint the location of a threat (like an active shooter) and share that location with others. Once activated, and with clearance from users, notifications are then sent to emergency response personnel, parents, and nearby residents.

There were more than 1,800 competitors in Ohio and ALERT U was selected as the best. It was also named the Best in Region winner. The team advances to the Best in Nation contest (winners will be announced on Feb. 15), as well as the Fan Favorite Award.

As a Best in State team, the students earned:

• A $5,000 award for the Technology/Engineering Program
• A Verizon Ellipsis 10 tablet and case for each team member
• A T-shirt, cinch backpack, bumper sticker and certificate for each team member
• A recognition plaque and banner for your school/organization
• Listing on the Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge website by clicking here.

You can view the Best in Region teams by clicking here.

You can view their video submission below:

The team also had to submit an essay for each of these four categories: statement of the problem, mobile app solution, uniqueness of the mobile app solution, and mobile app features.

The team now advances to the Best in Nation contest and will present the ALERT U app in a video conference to judges on Jan. 25.

To support the Westlake High School team in the Fan Favorite Award, text the code for the team -- ALERTU -- to 22333 using a mobile phone or tablet. Voting began Jan. 16 and ends Feb. 14. The team earning the most votes will receive an additional $15,000 prize, the opportunity to work with Massachusetts Institute of Technology experts to build its concept into a working app, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Technology Student Association Conference in Florida in June.

A special award ceremony to recognize the team for its state award will be held Jan. 30, at 9 a.m. in the Westlake High School Red Brick Community Room. Verizon representatives will be on hand to present the team its Best in State awards.

Photo from Westlake Schools