David Petty from the App Inventor Foundation joins Selim Tezel and Robert Parks from MIT App Inventor in attending the 8th annual CSTA New England conference. This year’s theme is “Reimagining a Connected Future through pK16 CS Education.”

Learn more: https://greaterboston.csteachers.org/page/csta-new-england-2024

Google.org’s first ever Impact Summit brings together the top voices in social impact to discuss some of the most exciting applications of technology today. Dr. Natalie Lao of the App Inventor Foundation gives a talk on “How Do We Empower Girls to Create Change with AI?” and participates in a panel on “Applying AI Responsibly in Education” alongside Amanda Timberg, Director of Education for Social Impact Programs, Google.org; Philip Colligan, CEO of Raspberry Pi Foundation; and Peter Gault, Executive Director of Quill.org.

Learn more: https://eventsonair.withgoogle.com/events/impact-summit-live

Prerna Ravi, a PhD candidate at MIT CSAIL, and John Masla, an Assessment Specialist at MIT STEP Lab, present on “Democratizing data science and AI literacy through student-centered interdisciplinary curricula.”

Learn more: https://www.unesco.org/en/weeks/digital-learning

Representatives from MIT, the Boston Mayor’s Office, NASA, and the Boston Museum of Science celebrate this year’s Day of AI – a free, hands-on curriculum of lessons and activities to introduce K-12 students to artificial intelligence. The event includes two highlights featuring students:

• More than two dozen high school and middle school students from the New England Innovation Academy in Marlborough, Mass., create and present AI projects on-site.

• The App Inventor Foundation announces the winners of the 2024 Global AI Hackathon – apps developed by hundreds of submitters on the themes of climate and sustainability or health and wellness.

To learn more about Day of AI, visit https://dayofai.org/.

The Wagamama Awards celebrates young people in Japan participating in the Wagamama initiative, which encourages them to address local issues using MIT App Inventor. Not only are their efforts helping people address real-world problems, but their work is also part of a larger computational action initiative with significant potential for global impact. The Wagamama Awards is organized by IRODORI Corporation and supported by the App Inventor Foundation, Hokota City, and Tsumagoi Village.

Learn more: https://wagamamalab.jp/

MIT App Inventor hosts an in-person workshop on “AI & Data Science with App Inventor” in collaboration with the Boston chapter of Technovation. Topics include generative AI (ChatBot, ImageBot) and data science (spreadsheets, charts, climate change data analysis). Participants will also have a chance to ask questions and receive advice for their Technovation projects.

Twenty teachers from the New England area join the MIT App Inventor team for an in-person workshop covering a wide range of AI tutorials. This training is geared towards preparing teachers for MIT’s global annual Day of AI event in May 2024. Topics include ChatBot with ChatGPT, ImageBot with DALL-E, Personal Image Classifier: PICaboo, Conversational AI with Alexa, and classroom strategies for teaching AI materials. The workshop does not assume previous AI experience and is ideal for those with at least intermediate-level App Inventor experience.

MIT organizers Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Dr. Vijay Kumar, Prerna Ravi, and Safinah Ali launch Day of AI India at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023. This event includes discussions about the importance of AI literacy and the opportunities and concerns regarding its integration into school curricula in India.

The GPAI Summit involves key meetings like MEG Plenary, All Member Consultation, Working Group sessions, Ministerial Council, Executive Council, and Steering Committee. It also hosts various side events showcasing domestic AI progress and engaging in discussions. These side events involve awards, research symposiums, industry exhibitions, hackathons and more.

Learn more: https://gpaidelhi2023.indiaai.gov.in/

Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, presents a seminar titled “Empowering Students as Community-Centered App Inventors towards an AI-Integrated Future” to 30 undergraduate students in the Foundations of Educational Technology course at IIT Kharagpur.

Middle and high school students from Sukagawa City present the App Inventor apps they built over the past four months to address challenges faced by their community. This event is a celebration and culmination of the Sukagawa Wagamama Lab competition.

Harness the power of generative AI and unleash your creativity in this hands-on workshop! Over the course of an hour, students will learn how to build and customize their very own generative AI chatbot app using App Inventor and ChatGPT (for Android and iOS devices). Also hear from current MIT students on what they think about generative AI's impact in school environments.

App Inventor is a free and user-friendly platform for mobile app creation for learners of all ages developed by researchers and educators at MIT and Google. The Congressional App Challenge is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Students can register and submit their original apps to this year's competition through November 1st, 2023.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-a-generative-ai-chatbot-app-using-mit-app-inventor-tickets-736678153187

App Inventor undergraduate researchers Gisella Kakoti and Isabela Sanchez Taipe judge this hackathon designed specifically for high school students. PreHacks aims to empower students with essential tech skills to overcome any fears they may have about hackathons in coding. The hackathon's primary mission is to increase diversity and inclusion in the tech community by providing a supportive environment for students to showcase their skills and talents.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prehacks-tickets-701111582617?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Natalie Lao, Executive Director of App Inventor Foundation, attends the finalists pitch event and award ceremony, where girls from around the world share the apps they built to tackle problems like education, elder care, accessibility, and more.

Selim Tezel from MIT App Inventor and Jeff Freilich from MIT RAISE present their work teaching “An Introduction to Mobile Computing and Artificial Intelligence” to residents at the Maine State Prison.

Rupa Shah, Board Member of App Inventor Foundation, pitches the Foundation; David Kim, Software Developer at MIT App Inventor, presents on the AI in Action Panel; and the App Inventor team tables at Startup Alley.

Learn more: https://www.csail.mit.edu/event/csail-imagination-action-ai-frontiers-implications