INDIANAPOLIS – Nearly 70 students from K-12 schools in 11 Indiana counties will compete on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at the Indiana Statehouse in the 7th annual Nextech CSforGood Competition in partnership with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE).
Sixty-six teams entered the competition. Eighteen teams earned finalist status and will showcase their computer science (CS) team projects at the Statehouse event. One from each of the categories – elementary, middle, and high school – will determine the winner. High school teams will have the opportunity to discuss their ideas with High Alpha, an Indianapolis-based venture firm that has launched more than 40 new companies and backed more than 100 founders.
The CSforGood competition is open to all Indiana K-12 students, who are asked to use their imagination, creativity and tech skills to identify a problem in their school or community and to design a solution to it using computer science (such as an app, website or physical computing device.)
Teams win cash prizes, and educators win money as well, which they can use to purchase tech for their CS programs.
The event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with the winners announced at 11:15 a.m. in the Indiana Statehouse atrium.
Speakers will include Dr. Katie Jenner, IDOE; Karen Jung, Nextech; Sheila Corey, Everwise Credit Union; Stephanie Zircher, Nextech; and Emily Kitterman, TechPoint.
Participating schools are:
- Whitewater Career Center (Fayette County)
- Hamilton Southeastern HS (Hamilton County)
- Triton Central HS (Shelby County)
- Castle HS (Warrick County)
- Carmel HS (Hamilton County)
- Signature School (Vanderburgh County)
- South Vermillion MS (Vermillion County) – two teams
- Cold Spring School (Marion County)
- LaVille MS (St. Joseph County)
- Danville MS (Hendricks County)
- Plainfield Community (Hendricks County)
- Childs ES (Monroe County)
- Guilford ES (Hendricks County)
- LaVille ES (St. Joseph County) – two teams
- L.F. Smith ES (Bartholomew County)
- Fred J. Hums ES (St. Joseph County)
About Nextech
Launched in 2015, Nextech, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is dedicated to creating equitable access to computer science curriculum and experiences for all K-12 Indiana students to help each student unleash their potential to thrive in a digital economy. Nextech is a supporting organization of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. For more information visit: www.nextech.org.
Projects competing in CSforGood Competition
| Clario -Whitewater Career Center | This universal classroom audio system provides live captions on students’ devices. The app lets students review missed content, follow discussions in noisy or fast-paced classes and participate confidently. It supports hearing-impaired students and enhances accessibility for all learners. |
| LinkHands – Hamilton SE | This app facilitates support efforts within an individual’s community. Users can create posts and issue tasks; members of the user’s community can claim the tasks and complete them, unburdening the user. |
| PickUpPlay – Triton Central | This app helps people find places to play sports, despite not having direct access to a team or gym. Users can set up games and mark locations for pickup games. Those who want to participate RSVP to play. |
| TutorTrack – Castle HS | This secure online platform connects students with qualified tutors based on their academic needs. With built-in safety features and verified accounts, TutorTrack ensures a trustworthy experience while making academic support more accessible, effective and equitable. |
| Countsheep – Carmel HS | Countsheep tackles sleep debt and stress among high schoolers through an affordable wearable and app. It monitors biometrics, provides AI-powered personalized insights, syncs with school calendars and offers wellness tools to promote better sleep and mindfulness to empower users to prioritize their health and well-being daily. |
| SchoolShield – Signature Schools | Most classroom doors are required to be locked, and door windows covered for safety. This makes people unable to see who they’re opening the door to and derails focus for students and teachers when a loud knock disrupts learning/teaching. SchoolShield was built to be a remote door camera, opener and security system for greater safety and focused learning. |
| SV Little Readers Library – South Vermillion MS | This website brings stories to life with local students and teachers in fun videos updated every two weeks. It has a random story generator, a mini AI choice game, and audio support, making reading interactive and accessible. The site helps early literacy, connects students, and shows off our new programming skills. It’s more than a website; it’s a game-changer for future readers in our community. |
| A Classroom Appropriate for the Year 2025 – Cold Spring MS | This classroom revisits long-established communication and class signals to make learning spaces more comfortable to neurodivergent learners. Twenty percent of students have difficulty with loud noises, sudden transitions, temperature fluctuations, announcement interruptions etc.. |
| Hoosier Helper – South Vermillion MS | This app connects volunteers with one-time jobs and community service tasks, matching people based on their skills, location and values. The app uses background checks and partners with social services and churches so everyone stays safe, and it tracks hours, recognizes helpful volunteers, and maps jobs to make things simple. With AI matching and monitoring, it makes helping out faster, safer and more organized. |
| Dr. Peary the Robot – Laville MS | In 2024, an estimated 4,182 members in the Marshall Countycommunity used drugs, with some overdosing. This robot dispenses medicine that removes drugs from human bodies. The robot would be found in popular public areas around the county. |
| Food Pantry Finder – Danville MS | This app enables users to select their state and ZIP code to see a list of local food pantries, along with hours of operation, addresses and contact information. An AI chat button enables them to reach out directly for more information. |
| My Transport – Plainfield MS | This app accurately tracks buses so riders will know where they are at all times, helping users arrive one time. It will also have a place to book tickets and more accessibility features. |
| Clean Up Bot – Childs ES | This robot would remove leaves and other debris from storm drains, eliminating clogging, which leads to flooding. |
| Guilford Spot & Claim – Plainfield ES | This app enables students, families and staff to easily search for lost items by browsing a catalog of found belongings. Users can claim their items directly through the app, streamlining the process to ensure lost belongings are returned quickly and efficiently. |
| Robot Scottie – LaVille ES | Scottie the robot is designed to help calm children who are stressed or upset. |
| I Don’t Need Vapes.com – LaVille ES | This website is designed to discourage youth from vaping using affirmations and rewards. It first gives users positive affirmations, then it will gives assignments like don’t vape for five days in a row. Those who complete the assignments earn badges. |
| SCHOOL FINDER – LF Smith ES | This QR solves the problem of navigating a school property for those who are new to the school or want to learn more about it. |
| Give and Grow – Fred Hums ES | This app helps make charitable donation easier, by identifying organizations that help homeless people, schools, hospitals and animal shelters, and providing an online method to support them. |
