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Mobile App Development

Syllabus

Course Essential Questions

How do we build functional and engaging apps to solve real world problems?
How do we develop reliable and effective apps through testing?
How do we determine the impact of an app on society?

Course Learning Objectives

Implement best practices of user interface design in mobile app development.
Apply basic programming concepts to develop functional and interactive mobile apps.
Incorporate user feedback and testing to refine and improve mobile app design and functionality.
Evaluate the benefits and risks of mobile apps on society.

Unit 1: Fundamentals of Mobile App Design (Weeks 1-3)

Unit Level Essential Questions

How do we set up App Inventor on our computer?
How do we construct GUI elements on our apps?
What are different ways to test GUI elements?

Week 1: Introduction to Mobile App Design

Weekly Learning Objectives

Establish App Inventor account and test software access.
Explain how app development has changed over the years.
Design an introductory app that illustrates a simple action or message.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug the app.

Week 2: Elements of Mobile App Design

Weekly Learning Objectives

Explain the difference between designer mode and blocks mode.
Describe the functionally of blocks common to all mobile apps.
Design an app that uses components and blocks to incorporate audio and visual elements.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug the app.

Week 3: Graphical User Interface Design

Explain computer memory functionality.
Design an app that utilizes variables and component properties.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Unit 2: Making Apps That “Think” (Weeks 4-7)

Unit Level Essential Questions

What is an event handler, and how do you write code within it to respond to user actions like button clicks or screen taps?
How can you effectively reuse code within your app, and why is this practice important for improving the app's efficiency and maintainability?

Week 4: Event Handling and Procedures

Weekly Learning Objectives

Describe how loops and procedures can reduce code complexity.
Design an app that demonstrates abstraction by consolidating repetitive code using loops and procedures.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Week 5: Variables and Conditions

Weekly Learning Objectives

Define and use random values in an app.
Design an app that dynamically changes behavior based on variables by using conditional statements (if, else if, else) to make decisions.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Week 6: Procedures and Parameters

Weekly Learning Objectives

Identify and fix errors in prewritten procedures by correctly modifying parameter values
Refactor (redesign) an app to replace repetitive code with procedures.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Week 7: Animations and Collisions

Weekly Learning Objectives

Analyze the behavior of an app by applying collision detection algorithms to ImageSprites
Design an app that incorporates animations and collision detection.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Unit 3: Saving, Storing and Retrieving Data (Weeks 8-11)

Unit Level Essential Questions

How can lists improve the efficiency and organization of an app, and when is it better to use a list instead of individual variables?
What types of sensors are available in mobile devices and how can we solve problems with them?
What is the role of databases in app development, and how can they be used to store and retrieve data to create apps that persist user information across sessions?

Week 8: Lists

Weekly Learning Objectives

Explain the purpose and structure of lists, identifying scenarios where lists are more efficient than individual variables.
Design an app that uses lists to store and manipulate data.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Week 9: Loops

Weekly Learning Objectives

Describe the purpose and functionality of loops, explaining how they are used to repeat actions or process lists.
Design an app to perform repetitive tasks; iterating through a list to display all its elements.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Week 10: Databases

Weekly Learning Objectives

Explain the role of databases in app development, describing how data is stored, retrieved, and updated.
Design an app that integrates a database to store user-generated data and persist data across sessions.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Week 11: Location Services

Weekly Learning Objectives

Explain how the location sensor component obtains and uses GPS data.
Design an app with location-based features.
Implement code to develop the app.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.

Unit 4: Purposeful App Development (Weeks 12-15)

Unit Level Essential Questions

What are the common stages of software development?
How do we develop ethical and responsible apps?
What are the different ways to publish apps for others to use?

Week 12: Software Development Life Cycle

Weekly Learning Objectives

Describe the key stages of the software development life cycle and explain how these stages apply to app creation.
Design and prototype an app to solve a real-world problem, through storyboarding and documentation.

Week 13: Ethical App Development

Weekly Learning Objectives

Identify open source software and how to use it ethically in the development of new apps.
Develop mobile apps ethically respecting copyrights.
Implement code to develop an app to solve a real-world problem.
Test and debug blocks to confirm functionality prior to publishing.

Week 14: Publishing

Weekly Learning Objectives

Describe the steps involved in commercial publishing.
Test and debug the app to confirm functionality after publishing.
Provide and incorporate feedback through end-user testing.

Week 15: App Showcase

Weekly Learning Objectives

Present the final app, demonstrating its features, functionality, and the problem it solves, while explaining the design and development process.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills by applying concepts learned throughout the course to solve problems related to app development.
Provide constructive feedback in a course survey, reflecting on their learning experience and offering suggestions for improving the course content and delivery.