Course Syllabus
Mobile App Design with MIT App Inventor

Description

Mobile App Design with MIT App Inventor is a project-based course designed for students with any level of prior experience in computer programming, from experienced programmers to those with just foundational skills. While it is recommended that students have completed an introductory or a foundations level programming course in order to understand basic design principles, App Inventor is a visual programming environment that allows users to create fully functional apps for Android or iOS phones and tablets by manipulating graphic elements in the software, rather than making extensive use of written computer programming languages. In this course, students will learn to strategize, design, and develop mobile and desktop applications. Students will learn about the life cycles of project and software development and use models to develop apps. Attention will be placed on how user interfaces affect the usability and effectiveness of an application. Programming constructs will be employed which will allow students’ applications to interact with “real world” stimuli. The course also exposes students to privacy, legality, and security considerations with regards to the software industry. Prerequisites:  None

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...

• Describe the software application life cycle and use a prototype development model to develop applications
• Design and develop applications using object-oriented programming techniques
• Design, develop, and implement accessible and usable interfaces, and assess user engagement in applications
• Use and implement different digital representations of media
• Evaluate an application design in terms of meeting privacy needs, legal and intellectual property requirements, and security considerations
• Develop applications that read real-world data from sensors, interpret the data, and respond to real-world stimuli
• Describe the unique needs for information and communication technologies for diverse audiences

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Apps that Solve Problems

Unit 2: Mobile App Development

Unit 3: Making Apps Interactive

Unit 4: Media and Real-World Data

Unit 5: Apps in Society

Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.

Additional Costs: None

Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.

Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.

Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.

The course uses MIT App Inventor as its main development tool.

• Students must have or create a Google Account and use it to access the App Inventor site.
• Students must be able to set up a test environment for App Inventor applications as described in Setting Up App Inventor.
• This requires either an iOS phone, an Android phone, or a computer on which to run emulation software. Note: See the "Setting Up App Inventor" site linked above for specific operating system, browser, and other device requirements.

Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/

Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at CustomerCare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.

Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at customercare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.

Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:

• Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• Download and install software
• Use a messaging service similar to email
• Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• Open attachments shared in messages
• Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
• Save a file as a .pdf
• Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• Insert images or links into a file or html editor
• Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• Use presentation and graphics programs
• Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• Create and maintain usernames and passwords

Additional Information: This course contains unique technical requirements. Please review the relevant syllabus fields for more details.