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Icon for: Carole Greenes

CAROLE GREENES

Arizona State University ASU

App Maker Pro: Motivating STEM Study through App Development

NSF Awards: 1509105

2018 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grades 9-12, Adult learners

In Project AMP, grades 9, 10 and 11 students and high school teachers collaborate in Design Villages to analyze existing apps in a domain and create new apps in that field for use with smart phones and tablets. Specific goals for participants are to: 1) increase understanding of software development processes and STEM content, 2) increase awareness of STEM and Computer Science careers and the preparation for them, and 3) co-lead software design and app development programs in after-school settings. Each Design Village is co-led by an expert in the domain field and an expert in computer science or software engineering. All leaders are from Arizona State University, other universities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, or industry. Each Village meets for 5 consecutive semesters (academic year and summer) in the tech labs at the Polytechnic campus of Arizona State University. At the end of each semester is a Showcase Open House where each villager picks up the microphone and describes some aspect of work completed, and answers questions posed by the audience of peers, faculty and friends. The fifth semester is the education outreach program, led by participants, with the goal of educating the community about the nature of app development, including design, construction and evaluation. Seven design villages have been conducted: Health Tech, Power Track, Photo Focus, Super Structures, Optical Illusions, Music Tech and Sustainable World.

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Discussion from the 2018 STEM for All Video Showcase (5 posts)
  • Icon for: Dennis Pearl

    Dennis Pearl

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2018 | 09:07 p.m.

    Interesting program Carole.  I supervise a summer research program where undergraduate statistics majors create apps for teaching statistical concepts and then field test them in live classes in the Fall semester.  I find that the students really gain a deeper appreciation for the concepts they are illustrating with their apps - so I'm a definite proponent of the underlying theme of your work.

  • Icon for: Alan Peterfreund

    Alan Peterfreund

    Facilitator
    May 14, 2018 | 11:26 a.m.

    Nice presentation of the project.  If someone was to adapt or adopt this approach, what are the key elements they would need to focus on?

  • Icon for: Gabriella Burton

    Gabriella Burton

    K-12 Student
    May 14, 2018 | 07:17 p.m.

    I got to be a part of this wonderful program. They took my basic knowledge of sustainability and programming to a whole new level. I can't thank all of our experts enough for the time and support they put into our cohort. AMP was such a great experience and it allowed me to do things I never thought I would be able to do. Now my two other friends and I have our own energy app, that's amazing!

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Gabriella Burton
  • Icon for: Angie Kalthoff

    Angie Kalthoff

    Facilitator
    Technology Integrationist
    May 15, 2018 | 11:06 a.m.

    This sounds like a great experience to be involved in.

    I am wondering if students leave the program with any type of badge or certification they can use when applying for jobs or college?

    What type of instruction do students receive around public speaking when presenting their projects at the end of the program?

    With the focus of the project being 9th - 11th grade, I am wondering what kind of outreach is done in younger grades to prepare students for this opportunity?

  • Icon for: Karthik Ramani

    Karthik Ramani

    Facilitator
    Donald W. Feddersen Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    May 15, 2018 | 10:57 p.m.

    Nice concept of using apps for learning - and - building your own apps - learning to design good ones as well. Overall cool. How do you know what principles are being learnt in the process - especially considering the diversity of apps that get made. One i can see is the design process of a good app - test - iterate - and the user interface design. But i was not able to see other general aspects they learn from this process - since it is very diverse set of apps. So they may not be able to get coached on specifics. What and how are the design goals of the app set and by whom? I guess the idea of the app comes from the student learner?

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.