The Library of Congress today announced the selection of three organizations that will receive a total of $1,058,513 during the next two years to support the development of engaging web- and mobile-based applications on subjects related to Congress and civics for use in K-12 classrooms.

From a mobile game with civics-themed musicals, to an app that takes users back in time to the pre-19^th Amendment United States and an online interactive that introduces middle and high school students to key moments in journalism, these applications will be available to teachers and students at no charge in 2020.

The Library received proposals from public, private, not-for profit and for-profit organizations, including institutions of higher education, cultural institutions, other educational organizations and collaborative partnerships.

The successful proposals were submitted by teams with a record of success in developing curricular programs on Congress and civics and the development and long-term maintenance of successful online interactives or mobile apps for the classroom use. Panels of judges with content and technical expertise from government agencies, non-profit organizations, universities and the Library of Congress selected these proposals as the outstanding submissions.

The selectees will work with the Library’s Teaching with Primary Sources program to develop the applications. They will use and incorporate not only the Library’s online primary sources, but also many other resources available from the Library.

The organizations selected for funding are:

• FableVision, based in Boston, MA, will partner with Maryland Public Television, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, and Maryland Humanities, to create “Civics: An American Musical,” an online and mobile civics game that will engage middle school students with primary sources from the Library of Congress, as they take on the role of researching a civics-themed musical.
• PBS NewsHour, headquartered in Arlington, VA, will create “Citizen Witness: Shift the Frame,” an online interactive to introduce middle and high school students to key journalism moments. Using Library of Congress primary source materials, students will develop civic understanding and historical thinking skills.
• Second Avenue, based in Rochester, NY, will create an app that will place the user in the time and social context of the pre-19^th Amendment United States. Content used will focus on primary sources related to the struggle for women’s suffrage, as well as the general prevailing social and political attitudes of the time period roughly between 1890 and 1920.

For more information about this grant opportunity, see loc.gov/item/prn-18-033/library-of-congress-announces-application-development-grant-opportunity/2018-03-19/.

For more than a decade, the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program has provided extensive professional development opportunities for educators and enabled the development and dissemination of teaching materials focused on using the Library’s digitized primary sources. In its fiscal 2015 appropriation, Congress allocated additional funds to the TPS program to increase competitive opportunities for developing online interactives and apps for classroom use on Congress and civic.

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