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Syllabus P Teach

This document outlines the syllabus for a course teaching app creation using MIT App Inventor. The course goal is to enable teachers to build apps with students. It is designed with three strands: app design process, programming with App Inventor, and pedagogical approaches. Each of the six weekly units will cover topics from these three strands. Participants are encouraged to try new things and have fun learning. The time commitment is about 6 hours per week.

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15 views2 pages

Syllabus P Teach

This document outlines the syllabus for a course teaching app creation using MIT App Inventor. The course goal is to enable teachers to build apps with students. It is designed with three strands: app design process, programming with App Inventor, and pedagogical approaches. Each of the six weekly units will cover topics from these three strands. Participants are encouraged to try new things and have fun learning. The time commitment is about 6 hours per week.

Uploaded by

tucchel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Syllabus - Teaching App Creation with MIT App Inventor

Course goal:
To enable adults (mostly teachers) taking the course to work with students to build apps using
App Inventor (in a variety of potentially interdisciplinary settings, but definitely including App
Challenge teams who want to complete their app).

Sub­goals:
To achieve the Course Goal, the course is designed with three strands, each of which has its
own sub­goal:
● App (Software) Design Process
How to effectively design and develop a concept and from it, an app (or other software).
● Programming with App Inventor
How to use App Inventor as a tool within the design process; how to apply concepts & skills that
will eventually allow build­out of an app idea.
Remember, for many of the topics we will cover in the programming strand of the course, the goal is not
complete mastery of the topic, but knowing what App Inventor can do, and how to get more information
about particular topics when/if it becomes necessary. We hope to prepare you to learn with students, not
make you THE App Inventor expert.
● Pedagogical Approaches
How to teach with technology; how to teach design; how to teach programming
In this strand especially, we anticipate a variety of experiences, from experts in teaching with technology to
relative novices. Because of this, this strand will be mostly reflection based.

How to get the most out of this course:.


● Don’t be Afraid to Try (and sometimes try again)
Some participants will be pushed to expand their comfort zone by this course. That’s OK and
expected ­ please try things, even if you’re not quite sure what you’re doing is right. You won’t break
anything, and chances are you’ll figure out what to do and learn something in the process.
● Have Fun!
As teachers, you know that learning is inherently rewarding, often hard, but ultimately fun too.
Remember that, and do your best to have fun as you travel through the course.

Time Commitment:
● About 6 hours per unit (or week)
This will vary by participant, but the course was designed to take about 6 hours per week for each of
the six weeks or units (with one unit/week) that the course runs.

Course Structure:
Each week, we will cover one unit of material. Each unit includes a piece or pieces from each of
the three strands described above (Design, Programming, Pedagogy). The design portion of
each week will include a short reading explaining the topic covered, and an activity to help better
understand that topic. The programming portion of each week will cover one or more concepts
and skills, with short assignments to practice or apply those. The pedagogy portion of a week
may include a brief reading, but will mostly focus on reflection questions to foster thoughtful
engagement. The topics covered in each unit will be:
● Unit 1
○ Programming ­ event handling, debugging
○ Design ­ overview of design process
○ Pedagogy ­ constructivism, constructionism, and inquiry­based learning;
● Unit 2
○ Programming ­ conditionals, lists, iteration
○ Design ­ need­finding
○ Pedagogy ­ progression of teaching with technology; interdisciplinary computing
● Unit 3
○ Programming ­ procedures, variables, algorithms, randomness
○ Design ­ prototyping
○ Pedagogy ­ teacher’s role in learning process
● Unit 4
○ Programming ­ persistent data
○ Design ­ whittling ideas down to a chosen few
○ Pedagogy ­ standards (CSTA & College Board Computer Science Principles); Personal
Learning Networks (PLNs)
● Unit 5
○ Programming ­ fusion tables, online APIs
○ Design ­ user testing
○ Pedagogy ­ best practices for teaching in a computing environment
● Unit 6
○ Programming ­ activity starter, layout & visual design, (other topic(s) as needed by
participants)
○ Design ­ usability and UX
○ Pedagogy ­ lesson plan design; coding vs. computational thinking vs. computing vs.
computer science ­ oh my!

Why Should You Participate?


● Learning is fun!
● This is something you could use in your school or classes ­ app programming is
interdisciplinary ­ it can fit into almost any subject.

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