{
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    "title" : "The API Briefing: RealTrack – How Hackathons Help Create Apps from APIs |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The API Briefing: RealTrack – How Hackathons Help Create Apps from APIs",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/07/16/the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The API Briefing: RealTrack – How Hackathons Help Create Apps from APIs","summary" : "Once a federal agency releases an API, there are several ways they can be used in apps. The most common method is through hackathons. Hackathons are where an agency or agencies present the API(s) and invite developers to create prototype apps. The apps","date" : "2014-07-16T10:00:12-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"bbrantley" : "Bill Brantley"},"topics" : {
        
            "application-programming-interface" : "Application programming interface",
            "challenges-and-prize-competitions" : "Challenges and prize competitions",
            "mobile" : "Mobile",
            "product-and-project-management" : "Product and project management",
            "software-engineering" : "Software engineering"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-07-16-the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/07/2014-07-16-the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/07/2014-07-16-the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/07/2014-07-16-the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis.md","slug" : "the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/07/16/the-api-briefing-realtrack-how-hackathons-help-create-apps-from-apis/","content" :"\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/250-x-400-Peace-Corps-RealTrack-Beta-app-Android.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Screen shot of the Peace Corps RealTrack app on Android\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\nOnce a federal agency releases an API, there are several ways they can be used in apps. The most common method is through hackathons. Hackathons are where an agency or agencies present the API(s) and invite developers to create prototype apps. The apps are then presented to subject matter experts for suggestions on creating the final app. There are many government hackathons on a variety of public issues. Visit \u003ca href=\"https://challenge.gov/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eChallenge.Gov\u003c/a\u003e to learn about the latest app challenges.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeeraj Rao created the Peace Corp’s \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/PeaceCorps/realtrack-android\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRealTrack app\u003c/a\u003e at a hackathon. Earlier in 2013, A Peace Corps volunteer created the \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/PeaceCorps/realtrack-indicators-api\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRealTrack API\u003c/a\u003e, which was then presented at the Atlanta \u003ca href=\"http://www.rhok.org/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRandom Hacks of Kindness hackathon\u003c/a\u003e. The RealTrack API was created as one of several ways to spur \u003ca href=\"http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2014/02/national-peace-corps-association-facilitates-google-tablet-donation-to-departing-peace-corps-trainees/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003einnovative solutions to help the Peace Corp worker \u003c/a\u003eas they improved communities around the world. When you view the Github page for the \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/PeaceCorps/realtrack-android\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRealTrack app\u003c/a\u003e notice how well the entry screens make entering and viewing the RealTrack API data easier with a clean, intuitive mobile interface. This is a great example of app design for mobile devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFederal hackathons are excellent ways to meet developers and API developers while learning more about the entire app development process. Even if you don’t know how to code, join with a team and you can learn much from watching how experienced developers brainstorm and implement solutions. Appsembler has \u003ca href=\"http://appsembler.com/blog/10-tips-for-hackathon-success/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e10 great tips for getting the most out of hackathons\u003c/a\u003e, but the best way to get started is by attending some of the upcoming hackathons listed on \u003ca href=\"https://challenge.gov/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eChallenge.Gov\u003c/a\u003e and joining the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/communities/challenges-prizes/\"\u003eChallenges \u0026amp; Prizes Community\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cem\u003eEach week in “The API Briefing,” I will showcase government APIs and the latest API news and trends. Visit this blog every week to learn how government APIs are transforming government and improving government services for the American people. If you have ideas for a topic or have questions about APIs, please contact me via\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"mailto:%20William.Brantley@opm.gov\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eemail\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDr. William A. Brantley\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e, PMP, is a Program Analyst, in Forecasting and Methods at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). You can find out more about his work in this space at\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"http://billbrantley.com/\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBillBrantley.com\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}