Ask kids to solve local social issues, and you may get stares. Ask them to do it using technology, and you’ll get over 1,000 ideas. It's part of the Innovative App Challenge, created by the Verizon Foundation and the Technology Student Association. The entries will eventually be narrowed to a final eight on Feb. 19. This all-girl team from Howard University Middle School is one of five DC area teams going to the second round. The girls developed an Build Central app that helps users construct items using a mobile device. (Can someone please use it to construct some coats for them? Brrrr, girls.)

One of last year’s winners was this group from South River High School in Edgewater, Md., which developed the Study Buddy app, now selling in the Google Play Store. It helps students avoid procrastinating, organize notes, and prep for exams. (Can adults use this?) Teams that move to the second round get a $5,000 grant for their schools; their faculty advisors, along with two colleagues, receive an online MIT course on teaching app creation. The Best in Nation winners will get $15k for a STEM program at their schools, a Samsung tablet, and onsite access to MIT’s Media Lab Center for Mobile Learning. Verizon will also help the winners get their apps ready for distribution.