BacktoSchool
Teach one thing. Ship one app with AI.
Thirty-one days, thirty-one apps that explain something. Bring the thing you know best: your field's first principles, your top three tips, the STEM idea that finally clicked. You do not need to be a developer to start.
For domain experts, SMEs, students, and anyone who has explained something twice and wished they had built it instead.
One app a day. Miss one and you start again tomorrow. The streak is the point.
The Leaderboard
Apps shipped is the primary sort. Where two builders tie, the longer unbroken streak takes the higher spot.
- 1
2apps 2streakView - 2
2apps 2streakView - 3 2apps 2streakView
- 4 2apps 1streakView
- 5
davidvkimball latest: yahew.com2apps 1streakView - 6 BU buildwithmaya latest: Skillstax Cold Email Course1apps 1streakView
Build something that teaches. Every day.
Pick a concept you can explain: how gravity works, why recursion clicks, how compound interest grows, what an HTTP request actually does. Education is the theme. Building is the requirement.
Every entry has to be a working app
The teaching happens inside the app. Format is wide open, as long as it is running at a live URL.
Static site
A crisp explainer page or cheatsheet people actually bookmark.
Interactive
Sliders, toggles, and playgrounds that make the idea click.
Game
A lightweight browser game with a lesson baked in.
Simulator
Change the inputs, watch the system respond in real time.
Ideas to spark your imagination
Starting points, not assignments. Use any of these to build your app around or come up with something on your own.
- Sales pitch practiceLearn what to say when they say no
- Subject line testerTwo versions, see which one wins
- Discount calculatorWhat a sale really costs you
- Marketing funnel explainerWhere your leads quietly drop off
- Fractions kitchenTeach fractions by cooking
- Compound interest simulatorSlide the knobs, watch money grow
- Sound waves labChange frequency, see the result
- Photosynthesis in 60 secondsA simple animated explainer
- Pricing tier sandboxWhat a ten percent raise actually does
- Sorting algorithm raceBubble vs merge vs quicksort
- How DNS worksFrom typed URL to loaded page
- Toy neural netAdjust weights on two inputs
How it works
Five steps, repeated thirty-one times. The deploy is the entry: posts amplify a build, they never replace it.
- BuildAn education themed app. Any stack, any tool, any agent.
- DeployShip it live on Netlify so anyone can open it.
- SubmitAdd the live URL to the wall so it counts.
- SharePost it, mention @netlify, use #NetlifyBackToSchool.
- ClimbRise up the leaderboard for the rest of the month.
What you can win
Credits, amplification, and the top of the board. Judging looks at shipped apps only.
Best use of Agent Runners
Each week we pick the strongest Agent Runners build. Optional track, real upside.
Student head start
Not students only, anyone can enter. Verify a .edu email for credits to start.
Credits and bragging rights
Daily deploys stay visible and competitive all month.
Thirty-one days of shipped lessons
Every submitted app lands on the wall, and the leaderboard ranks builders by apps shipped. Both are open — every build that goes up is a real one, so shipping early puts you at the top of a board people are already watching.
The wall
Every app, browsable by format. We promote and boost submitted builds all month, so shipping early earns real distribution.
- 02OvencraftInteractive
- 02Conversion Rate RippleSimulator
- 02oddpediaInteractive
School is in. Bring what you know.
One app a day, all August, each one teaching a single idea. Students with a .edu email get a head start, and the best Agent Runners build wins credits every week.