MIT App Inventor

Class Wednesday, May 22, 2019

 Today’s Goals:

  • Learn about and create Android apps
  • Learn how Android and Apple apps differ from each other: visually (how they look), technically (how they are built), and other things such as security, popularity, etc.

 Today’s featured website:

 All About Androids

  • What do you have in your pocket? Android or iPhone? Which do you prefer? Why?
  • What do you already know about Android devices?
  • What would you like to know?
  • Questions for you (at your tables):
    1. Who makes Android software (the operating system)?
    2. Who makes Android hardware (the actual phones and tablets)?
    3. What came first, Android phones or iPhones?
    4. How many Android versions are there and what are their names (ex. Jelly Bean, etc.)
    5. How do you create an app for an Android device? What software application do you have to use and what language is used to program Android apps?
    6. What is the major difference between the Android app store (Google Play) and the iPhone app store?
    7. Which has a higher risk for viruses and malware, Androids or iPhones? Why?
  • Android device fragmentation: the struggle is real 
  • Android Studio: Let’s look at what Android app developers use  to create apps
  • What is Material Design? Let’s look at some examples: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/look-and-feel  and https://madewithmaterial.tumblr.com/ 

  MIT’s App Inventor

  • You will follow the basic Hello Purr tutorial in which you make an Android app that has a photo of a cat that, when tapped, makes a meow sound.
    1. Go here and click create apps  at the top right
    2. Sign in with your Google account
    3. Follow this tutorial 
    4. When you finish, test your app on my old Android phone
    5. Change up the app by adding a new image and a new sound (you can find tons of free sound files here )
    6. If you already did Hello Purr and modified it, you will pick a tutorial from this list  to create another app.  You can work on your own or with a partner.  When you’re done, check out how your app works on the Android phone.