MIT App Inventor Democratizing Mobile Computing MIT Center for Mobile Learning Media Lab + CSAIL + Teacher Ed Program Led by Hal Abelson, CS Prof. Andrew McKinney, Director of Engineering Shaileen Pokress, Director of Education Adopted from Google in Fall 2011

MIT App Inventor - Where? Both Formal and Informal Settings Since 2009, App Inventor has been taught to thousands of students through: School-based programs (New CS curriculum in UK, AP CS Principles in US) Technovation program hinges on App Inventor (girls around the world, ages ) Online courses for teachers and students For a full list, see appiventor.mit.edu/teach

MIT App Inventor - Who? Students from middle school through adulthood Computer Science courses and also infusion into other courses (math, english, business...) Teachers are eager for real-world experiences for their students. App Inventor = high engagement. Equally interesting to boys and girls Outcomes: Widespread adoption in variety of settings. Anecdotal evidence of learning outcomes (currently seeking research funding)

Challenges App Inventor is transformative and engaging, but it does require a setup: o Best setup is Android device connected over wifi to a PC/Mac. o Students without a device can use the emulator. Curriculum development: We would need lead-time to develop training materials specific to this initiative. Localization is something we have been planning, but there is a time and money constraint.

Expectations 1. Activities: Teacher Training; materials for trainers to use in the field; localization 2. Timeframe: 6 months for materials, 6 months for localization 3. Cost: collaboration with MIT through a grant or gift, including overhead, to cover the costs of people and resources for the activities listed here. Estimate: 1 curriculum developer at 75% for 6 months 1 software developer at 75% for 6 months 1 project manager at 100% for 6 months