Fishers teen wins national competition with homework help app

FISHERS, Ind (WISH) – A new app to help kids with homework is getting a Hamilton County teen national attention.

While some kids relaxed during winter break, one Fishers High School student was busy. Grayson Faircloth developed the FHS Genius app to help with homework.

“When I need help, I’ll just text somebody,” Fishers High School student Grayson Faircloth said. “If they don’t know it, then I’m kind of out of luck.”

He developed a new way to find some luck by creating an app that involves students and teachers. He entered it into the Congressional App Challenge.

Tuesday, he found out he won. Congresswoman Susan Brooks went to FHS and presented him with a certificate.

“It was very interactive,” Brooks said. “It was easy to use. Grayson did a very nice job explaining it on the app as he introduced it to us.”

Using the app is easy. All you need is a smart device with a camera. Say you’re doing math homework, and you don’t understand a problem. You just snap a photo and upload it to the app. Then a teacher or another student can respond and help you out.

It’s not a finished product. While he won the challenge, Faircloth hasn’t passed the ultimate test — showing it to his friends.

“I have not,” Faircloth said. “I’ve just been doing this as a little side project, just to teach myself how.”

Faircloth isn’t the only winner. Each congressional district gets one.

Across the country, nearly 1,000 apps were designed, and winning apps are put on display in the Capitol in Washington, DC.

“We want to encourage our young people to think about getting into careers involving technology,” Brooks said. “Everything we do now involves technology.”

Even if you don’t win, Faircloth encourages all students to give it a shot. “Now I know the stuff that a couple months ago I would’ve been lost trying to do something like this,” Faircloth said.

To learn more about the app challenge, click here.