A Global App Showcase

During the 2021-2022 school year, Ridgewood High School was presented with a unique opportunity to collaborate on a coding project with another Apple Distinguished School. The other school just happened to be close to 4,000 miles away! New Bridge Group hails from just outside of Manchester England. After close to an entire year of planning, 20 New Bridge Students and 12 Faculty members visited Ridgewood High School in early March 2022. All students involved in the projects had special needs. The main purpose of the project was to introduce students to coding and design principles.  

We were very fortunate to have support from multiple individuals and departments at Apple. Our local Education Leadership Executive, Shannon Osheroff, provided us with tons of support, guidance, and resources. Our students connected with Apple Campus Leaders who met with the students daily over Zoom to walk them through the App Showcase curriculum. The Apple Campus Leaders program is unique because it provides current college students the opportunity to connect with high school students. They were able to share their experiences using the App Showcase curriculum. In addition to working with the Apple Campus Leaders, we spent a day at the flagship Apple Store on Michigan Ave. in Chicago where Apple Staff presented a Today At Apple session focused on Photography Skills. Students walked the streets of Chicago near the river taking photos of architectural details that were later presented on the video wall.  

After a week of building their interactive applications in Keynote, students presented their projects to Community Leaders, including politicians as well as University and business leaders. The end products produced by the students far exceeded our expectations. Students' projects were thoughtful in solving real-world problems that impact them and their communities. In addition to building their applications, students created a video documentary in iMovie or Clips. Awards were presented for Best Design, Best Innovation, Best Creativity, and Best Documentary. Ultimately, friendships were formed and memories were made that will last a lifetime. New Bridge plans to have a return visit to Ridgewood High School during the 2022-2023 school year to work on a brand new project.