This year, after the AP Computer Science exam, I gave my students a choice: robots or Android Apps. In April, my order of Scribbler 2 robots came in. I’ve used them in a summer program I teach in (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science – COSMOS) and used them in my Robotics class. But, despite seeing them when they arrived and having interest in programming them, they opted to make Android Apps.
I hadn’t really played with it much, but we’re going to use it this year for COSMOS. So, my students and I embarked on playing with AppInventor together. Luckily, it was my APCS class and they could go from basic tutorials to more complicated ones in a short time frame. We went from the Kitty first application to an Amazon.com database search, to a GPS locator. We briefly went over the basics and I let them run with it. With the knowledge they gained from APCS, the concepts connected easily for them. If they didn’t understand the point of methods before, it was clear after using AppInventor.
The blocks editor in AppInventor reminds me of Scratch. But, naturally, there is something more inherently powerful with AppInventor since it can take live data from GPS or the internet to create applications that can be used on your Android device. My students don’t have Android phones or other devices, so we used the emulator. They enjoyed creating their own application. Some made games and some made paint programs or variations of the tutorials we completed.
I’m torn between having them work on it during the very beginning of school (or even as a summer assignment) to get their feet wet in the programming arena. I can see positives and negatives. One negative being I always need all the time I can get to delve into the material for APCS. But I will use it for my Robotics class next year and hope to get more ideas this summer.
I think the possibilities are almost endless to what students can get out of it. It makes software development truly real for them because they can create apps that they can immediately use and share!
Now, that’s good PR for CS in high school!
Shirley Miranda
CSTA Board Member
Hi Miranda,
I would like to add a point that might help to choose between robots and android apps. Best thing with android apps is that, you don’t only create them for fun. Students can make usable and functional apps that helps to make everyday life easier with a pocket size device(mobiles). And yes, creating android app does not require more resources.
The degree is versatile, and allows for study of theoretical concepts as well as practical ones with a focus on engineering and software. Different kinds of degrees available, and achieving a degree creates opportunities for numerous career paths.
This site is nice and amazing. I love your post! It’s also nice to see someone who does a lot of research and has a great knack for ting, which is pretty rare from bloggers these days.
Thanks!
I played with AppInventor and loved it, i probably didn’t pick it up as fast as your students, but i enjoyed playing with it.