Tag: Android

Using Processing for Intro to Programming

IMG_20160919_084902In my Introduction to Programming classes I am using Processing to introduce graphics, Java, and Android development.  Starting with a CS4HS Workshop at UofW this summer I am beginning an exploration that will make this class more fun, closer to CS Principles, and setup students for success in IB.

I completed a class using Java to draw images, then a class using variables to have the students faces “sing” by changing shapes and sizes based on the volume of a song they choose.

Then, today, they attempt to actually publish the code to their phone, install the Java software development tool we are using on their phone, and run a simulator on the PC.  3 ways to program for a phone.

Fun stuff as seen in the  image.

Google and MIT announce open sourcing of the App Inventor code

I finally found the Google App Inventor Blog for MIT.  I am catching up to using App Inventor again in class after pausing while MIT took it over.  From the Blog:

Google and MIT are pleased to announce the initial free and open-source release from Google of the App Inventor source code at http://code.google.com/p/app-inventor-releases/.

There’s little supporting documentation yet, and we’re not accepting contributions to the code now. That will happen later, after the MIT Center of Mobile Learning opens their App Inventor server to the public. We hope to nurture a robust and active open-source project eventually, but for now we don’t want to distract the MIT developers from their efforts to complete and deploy the large-scale public server. In the meantime, we’ll update the code periodically to match what’s running at the latest MIT experimental system. We’ve also created a Google Group here for people working with the code to relate their experiences with the code, ask questions, help each other, etc.

People who create modifications from this code base are free to use the term “App Inventor” and the puzzle-piece Android logo in their work. MIT will be releasing its own versions under the name “MIT App Inventor”, which is reserved for the systems actually coming from MIT.

Enjoy the code, and Happy Inventing!

Bloom’s Taxonomy on Androids

From Kathy Shrock Android Applications that utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy is an interesting way of explaining what a tool can be used for.  Click through to get to her page where the images link to the Android Market to explain what each app does.