Starting AppInventor in the Classroom Dale CAS Conference June 2011

Scope  Starting with AppInventor  Create a (very) simple app  Consider howthis could be developed in the classroom

Why Apps?  Inspiring  Computing, incorporating ICT  Challenge – to analyse needs, create and refine a solution  Creating something that works  Solving problems, Developing thinking “Solving problems creatively by using ICT to explore ideas and try alternatives” “Consider systematically the information needed to solve a problem” “Solve problems…” “Use ICT to make things happen by planning, testing and modifying…”

What to use?  iPhone SDK  See iOS Dev Center  Android SDK  Eg Eclipse  AppInventor  Windows Phone SDK

Making it real  Authentic context  Technical knowledge (of the dev environment)  Technical know-how (to make the dev environment do the right things)  Creative flair  Use stimulus cards?

Systems Life Cycle Design It Feasibility Analyse It Develop and Test It Implement It Check out the Ideas Cards for starting points Evaluate It

Feasibility/Analysis

Design Design It Screen layout Navigation Corporate identity Interface Storage Inputs Outputs Assets Appearance Sound Vibration Sound Movement Touch Position Buttons Image map Sounds Text Images Movies Splash Screens Credits

Data flow and navigation Splash Screen Instructions Page 1Page 2AboutCredits

Design Tools  Storyboards  Screen mock-ups (some good iPhone templates at modoku.com)

Make It! Our brief (though curiously unreliable) market research suggests that there is an opening for an app that changes the colour of text and its background at the press of a button. Please develop an app that will do this.

Using AppInventor  Get a Google Account  Works on Google Apps for Education too  Start AppInventor at and log in.  3 parts to AppInventor:  Designer – where assets are compiled  Blocks editor, where you tell things what to do  Emulator, a virtual mobile device  (or connect a real one)

Using Appinventor  Start the designer and create a new project.  Assemble assets according to your design plan  Drag and drop AppInventor components  Give them appropriate names (eg btnBlkOnRed)  Upload other assets (images, sounds) and name them  Tell assets what to do in the Blocks Editor  See what it looks like in the Emulator (or on the device)

Using AppInventor – Drumkit  Assemble assets in the designer  Upload pictures, sounds  Insert buttons in a table arrangement  Tell assets what to do in the Blocks Editor  When button is clicked, play the sound  Test in the Emulator  Add other buttons  Use a vertical arrangement to add a splash screen

Using AppInventor – DrawKitteh Introduces use of the Canvas element to enable on-screen drawing. See tutorial at part1.html

Using AppInventor - sharing  Download and publish elsewhere  Use the barcode  Download to phone

Some Tutorial Sources (there are others)  