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Android 12: Conclusion

Kirk Scott

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• 12.1 Introduction• 12.2 Building on FlashCard and

FlashCardMaker• 12.3 Building on Google• 12.4 Summary

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12.1 Introduction

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• Day 1 of the seminar was devoted to this idea:• Building a useful flashcard app without

developer knowledge by using a template• Creating content for the template using the

flash card maker program

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• Up until this point, day 2 has been devoted to the questions of app publication and distribution using Google Play and Google Play for Education

• This final set of overheads is devoted to the idea of building on both of these things

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12.2 Building on FlashCard and FlashCardMaker

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FlashCard

• The FlashCard program, and the template based on it, Copy of FlashCard, are admittedly quite modest

• The only implement the simplest of learning paradigms:

• Cue-response to help the memorization of factual knowledge

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• To someone with knowledge of app development, some possible enhancements immediately suggest themselves:

• 1. Write an improved version of flashcards where the user can step through the various parts of a multi-part answer, one click at a time.

• Think in terms of the steps in a math problem solution, or the multiple lines of an SQL query.

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• 2. Write an improved version of flashcards which includes a scratchpad area where the user can scribble their answers (either with the keyboard, or better yet, using a stylus or fingertip) before checking them with the app.

• 3. Building on (2), write a version of flashcards where the user’s answers are saved and can be replayed in some fashion.

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• 4. Building on (3), write a study guide creation app.

• The idea here is that the original app contains no answers—just questions.

• As the user enters answers, they are recorded in tandem with the questions.

• At the end, the app works like flashcards. • In other words, this app causes users to create

their own study guides.

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• 5. Building on (4), write a completely generic study guide creation app.

• In other words, the user is prompted to enter both questions and answers, in succession.

• At the end, the collected set works like flashcards.

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• 6. The foregoing train of thought could lead to an app that had nothing to do with flashcards and was simply a data-entry tool for some problem domain.

• Up to this point, you might have been managing questions and answers as resources.

• Or you might already have reached the conclusion that having a db backend would be helpful.

• For a full-scale data entry tool, a db backend would start becoming a necessity.

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• 7. Write a two-player version of flashcards. The idea here is that one student could quiz another.

• The app plays in teacher mode on one device. • This shows both the question and answer, plus it has a

button to advance to the next question. • The app plays in student mode on another device. • Here it shows only the question. • The idea is that the student would have to orally answer

the teacher before being advanced to the next question.

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• 8. Think in terms of vocabulary flashcards for foreign language learning.

• In addition to the text of the words in the two languages, consider adding the following:

• Pictures, pronunciation sound, pronunciation recording and playback, videos.

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• 9. Building on (7), make the language bi-directional.

• In other words, make it just as useful for the speaker of either language as a native speaker to practice vocabulary in the other.

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• 10. Instead of a question and answer format, develop a flashcard app based on multiple choice questions.

• Notice that foreign language vocabulary would be relatively easy to implement.

• Along with the one right choice, 3 others could be randomly selected from the master list of all vocabulary included.

• This could be randomized so that the choices and the position of the correct answer would be different every time.

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• 11. Building on (9), create an app that will actually test the student, recording counts of the number correct.

• In theory you could grow this into an app that changed the path through the questions and answers based on the knowledge that the student has already proven based on previous answers.

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• 12. Use touch gestures in the implementation instead of buttons.

• For example, to move back and forth between cards, swipe left or right.

• To go back and forth between a question and an answer, swipe up or down.

• Other functionality, like starting over, etc., could be based on long press, double touch, etc.

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• An elaboration on this would be: • There would be a main linear progression

through the cards (up and down) which would still be done with buttons.

• Swiping down would show answers. • Swiping left or right would go to additional

cards related to the mainline card.

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• 13. A nice use of things like spinners, search, and the action bar also presents itself:

• Give the user the option to see a list of all of the cards, and skip to the one of interest.

• Or give the user the option to search for some keyword content of a card, and skip to the card containing that keyword.

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FlashCardMaker

• For every different version of FlashCard, it would be possible to make a version of FlashCardMaker to help the user create content for it

• In the most general terms, it would be possible to make a version of FlashCardMaker that gave the user a choice of what kind of educational app to make

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• FlashCardMaker would contain the logic to create content for whichever kind was selected

• It doesn’t take much space to write the idea• However writing both the app code for the

various different version of FlashCard and writing the general code for FlashCardMaker would be significant project

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12.3 Building on Google

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• The previous topic had to do with allowing non-technical people create apps

• This topic follows up on the idea of distribution

• If the apps have useful content, then it would be natural for people to want to share them

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• In the first day of the seminar we saw that apps can be uploaded directly from a development computer to a tablet using a USB cable

• This is convenient for testing and for the app creator who is not concerned with reaching a wider audience

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• However, a good app may have appeal to many people

• I may also have appeal to people in many different locations

• If there are many people, then allowing them to download directly from the Internet is a great convenience

• If they are in different locations, downloading from the Internet is the only practical way of reaching them

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• At this point the Google Play distribution environment becomes critical

• Communities of app creators can develop around the world and make their work available through Google

• They may make use of Google Play for Education if its international version ever goes live

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• However, they may also not want to be constrained by the Google Play for Education restrictions, evaluations, and business model

• If so, then they can just obtain their own Google account to distribute apps while managing their community through their own Web site, email, etc.

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• Admittedly, the simple flashcard app presented in this seminar is unlikely to meet the high standards of Google Play for Education

• It is not “gamified”• Its logic is very simple and straightforward• It doesn’t implement and fancy educational

theories

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• And it has absolutely no commercial aspect• The attractive thing is that virtually anyone

can make such a flashcard app• Millions of teachers around the world know

best what content suits their students• Their students, in turn, are increasingly

motivated to use cell phones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices

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• Even without gamification, educational theories, or fancy features, it is possible for average teachers to create things useful to themselves and their students and share them with other teachers and students

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12.4 Summary

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• This seminar was based on an ongoing computer-education research project at the University of Alaska Anchorage

• In the spring semester of 2014, the seminar presenter will work with a Russian teacher and one of her students to create Russian vocabulary flashcards for the introductory Russian course

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• The Russian vocabulary project will be funded by a small grant from UAA

• An application has also been submitted to UAA for a larger project that would involved the local school district

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• The school district project would hire a university student programmer to create new versions of the FlashCard program and corresponding versions of FlashCardMaker

• High school students would then collaborate in making the content for flashcard apps for various fields of study in their school

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• The next step in developing this project will be finding a longer-term overseas partner

• The seminar presenter is eligible to be a Fulbright Senior Specialist

• If a non-U.S. university prepares and submits a project which requires an American academic partner, and that grant application is approved, then the American is invited to travel overseas to the institution and participate as a senior specialist

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• In summary, mobile devices are the current wave in computing

• In effect, the era of ubiquitous computing has arrived

• More and more people will be carrying some form of smart phone

• And the young, especially, find using these devices highly motivating

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• It seems natural to try and make the use of these devices for educational purposes

• One way of trying to do this is to separate the basic skill of app development from the educational aspect of content development

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• This seminar and the projects related to it are based on this idea:

• Trying to put some power and capability into teachers and students, relying only on programmer’s skills for support in the background

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The End