App InventingA Presentation for Teachers

About Me

Studied Computer Science Completed MA in ICT in Education Taught abroad and in the UK Currently Head of ICT, Computing &

Business Studies at a grammar school, Wiltshire

Why Apps?

There are approximately 350,000 apps in iTunes, 65,000 in the Android marketplace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjUcq_E4I-s

Why Apps in Schools?

The UK's video games sector is bigger than both the film and music industries with over £2bn in global sales.

With games becoming increasingly complicated to make, the programmers used to make the games are in high demand.

There are concerns about where the talent of the future is going to come from.

"The narrowness of how we teach children about computers risks creating a generation of digital

illiterates.“

Ian Livingstone, life president of Eidos and government skills champion

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9503255.stm

Why should students be interested?

Rate of apps being made available each day is growing rapidly.

Potential to generate revenue

Expand to tablets, TV

and beyond!

But mostly…

Curriculum Links

Can replace Flowol and LOGO “Sequencing Information”

Level 5

They create sequences of instructions and understand the need to be precise when framing and sequencing instructions.

Level 6

They develop, try out and refine sequences of instructions and show efficiency in framing these instructions, using sub-routines where appropriate.

Level 7

They develop, test and refine sequences of instructions as part of an ICT system to solve problems. They design ICT-based models and procedures with variables to meet particular needs.

Level 8

They design and implement systems for others to use.

Creators not Consumers

“The goal is to enable people to become creators, not just consumers, in this mobile world”Harold Abelson (MIT), Google App Inventor

Projecthttps://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/technology/12google.html?_r=1

Development Environments

No Programming

Drag & Drop (Visual) Programming

Language Specific Coded Programming

No Programming Required?

BUT need to be over 13 to register!

• You can create a fully functioning App that can be shared with the world, or just your users…

• You can send push notifications to users You can create Forms

• Menu based interface• Basic interactions• Easy to use – no programming required• FREE!!

• Similar to appsbar, but a cost involved!

• More complicated/corporate feel• Just for iPhones

Drag & Drop Programming

Starting with the basics…….from scratch

Drag & Drop Programming

App Inventor shares many similarities with ScratchScratch Freely available for Windows, Linux or Mac, Scratch

provides an approachable way to build interactive games and works of art.

The language is similar to Basic… only instead of typing out the “code”, you place bits of the code in place via dragging-and-dropping with the mouse. 

The resulting applications are not “stand alone executables”

App Inventor Allows people with very little programming

experience to build their own applications for their Android phone.

The language and user interface itself is actually based on Scratch (with a much more “grown up” look and feel).

App Inventor also contains an excellent User Interface Layout tool to design the look and feel of your Android app.

Crayons for the Web

“When I first heard about Scratch, I hated it...I didn't like the idea of teaching kids how to program. But this isn't a programming language. It's an environment where people can become creators of content for the internet. It's like crayons for the web.”

Seth Raphael, MIT http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/12/google_app_inventor_for_android

/

Coded Programming Environments

Xcode (Mac SDK) Mac Only Only possible to code in Objective CDragonFire SDK Windows based Code in C/C++

Both complicated (this video illustrates this well http://www.dragonfiresdk.com/video/index.htm)

Structure of App Inventor

Don’t need to attach your mobile phone – can use the Android Emulator to test your apps.

Installation Instructions

Simple really……(??!!) 5 mins to….▪ Ensure Java installed on computer

10 mins to….▪ Download setup software to your PC (87MB)

Up to 30 mins to…..▪ Obtain and install driver for phone – this is a bit

trickier….and not necessary if you want to use the Android emulator

Simple to install onto RM network at school

Instructions are all online http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/learn/setup/index.html

Issues Identified

Installation Need a package to install .exe on

each machine Students need Google accountsRunning Interface can be awkward and

unintuitive Emulator can be slow to load, and for

apps to run

App Inventor Interface

You can drag and drop the

items from here onto

the screen.

This is the design screen.

Any components you add on the screen are listed

here.

The properties of each

component can be set or

changed here.

The Blocks Editor

Once the interface is designed, you can add the code by opening the blocks editor. This is a Java pop-up window.

The building blocks are similar to those in Scratch.

Built In Functions

The built in blocks are in the categories shown.

The components that you place on the screen design can all be manipulated from the “My Blocks” list.

App Inventor in Action

Source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ADwPLSFeY8&feature=player_embedded

The Emulator

Behaves like an Android phone.

Can fully navigate the interface.

Tutorials

Good quality tutorials are available on the App Developer website: http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/learn/tutorials/index.html

Basic Advanced

PicCallThis application lets you select people from your contact list and display their pictures. When you press a picture picture, the phone calls that person.PaintPotPaintPot lets you scribble in different colors by touching the screen to draw dots and lines.MoleMashVersion of Arcade game Whack-A-Mole

Quiz MeText GroupMakeQuiz and TakeQuizMap TourText Group Part 2Broadcaster HubNo Text While DrivingNo Text While Driving Part 2Android, Where’s My Car?

Code for MoleMash

Development time:1 hour

Difficulty:Simple if you understand variables, assignments and objects.

Pro’s and Con’s(through the eyes of very discerning A-Level Computing Students)

Pros Cons• Real-time compiling• Live feed to android devices• Emulator if no android

device available• Intuitive controls• Free• Cross-platform

• Uploading files requires a web page refresh

• Emulator was unreliable and slow at times

• Moving the “blocks” was slow and sluggish

• Incomplete interface feel• Collision detections was

unreliable and the code was difficult to implement

• Accelerometer was complex and didn’t work as desired

OVERALL:“Good but needs work. Definitely a beta. But do enjoy the visual element of programming using it. Great for learning to program.”

My Plans for Android

Initially a 6 week scheme of work in summer term (target audience Year 10) Students design mobile phone app Students set price of app and identify

target market (enterprise) Students start to develop basic

functionality Will lead to App development club for

those who wish to develop their skills further

Prizes awarded to best ideas

Existing Teaching ModelBy sharing and discussing their experiences, and those of the people they know, the teams identify a whole range of areas where every-day, real-life problems occur for further exploration. Students

investigate the various

opportunities by discussing

with their peers, and looking at

similar products in

app stores. By the end of this stage students will have much

clearer, more defined

knowledge of who and

where (physically) their users

are.

Students learn about how best to plan and organise the development of their application, considering for marketing and distribution.

Once solution design is complete, students focus on perfecting their product design, testing and improving the feature sets and user interactions in dialogue with potential users. This is done through paper wireframes as well as interactive tools to allow for click through animations.

Using Google App Inventor students will work to create the first prototype app to be deployed onto Android Market. They will then work to test and refine their design and get real-life testing feedback from the public.

My Project Model

Problem DefinitionFeasibility

Study

Planning

DesignPrototype

Promote

BuildFollowing this model, if working independently

students are able to achieve level 7/8

“Pupils independently select appropriate information sources and

ICT tools for specific tasks, taking into account ease of use and suitability.

They design and implement systems for others to use. “

Scheme of Work

6 weeks (approx 10 hours)

Week Outline

1 Overview of app development, development lifecycle

2 Market research and detailed planning

3 Design

4 Prototype

5 Promote

6 Present

Examples of Student Work

Squish! DinoDash Keen2Clean Teaching Tots Ducky Day Care

What next?

Students who want to develop full app to join App Developer club

1 hour a week Supported by 6th form computing

students

Launch primary outreach programme for app design in Scratch

(later Mobile Scratch project http://llk.media.mit.edu/projects.php?id=1974 )

Get in touch

http://creativityincomputing.wordpress.com

All material from the presentation today can be found at this site from the end of today