Today is the last day of the android programing class. It was very fun and I liked it. I hope we do it again. :)
By,
Sean
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Our Final Class
Today we watched several videos on making apps for Android. One had a cat on a keyboard. The apps that we had made so far were the Hello, Android app and the Hello, Linear Layout app. Justin made that last one alone, and he says it was a failure. Marco got a QR code for Harford Day School, so now if you scan it you go to the HDS website. Our group tried to make a couple new apps today, but they all ended in failure. The tutorials were extremely difficult and confusing. But overall, this class was a lot of fun.
Sam
Sam
QR code for HDS android Class
Marco
Some Progress
Today I still couldn't get some of the apps to work, but then I tried a different website to get instructions from. It's called AppInventor and is a lot more user-friendly than the previous website. I just started working from it and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make some apps with it.
App Inventor
We looked at App Inventor today. It is an extremely easy way to develop android apps. I like it because in the video it looks very simple to use and requires minimal programming knowledge. It looks like a lot of fun!!! In the video the person developed an app with ease. It looks very cool. Can't wait to use it.
Sahil
Sahil
Final Class
Today we tried a lot of things but they did not work. All the tutorials
were hard and we could not understand them. Last time we made a linear
layout app. It displayed colors. Somebody else created a qr code that
when you use a scanner it takes you to harfordday.org. I hope we can create another worker app some other time.
Arnav
were hard and we could not understand them. Last time we made a linear
layout app. It displayed colors. Somebody else created a qr code that
when you use a scanner it takes you to harfordday.org. I hope we can create another worker app some other time.
Arnav
Try and Fail
Today was the biggest failure in the android class for our group. Many of the new tutorials we tried were confusing and challenging. It was too frustrating. I hope we can get better at programming so that we could possibly develop a real app for Harford Day School. Let's hope it works.
Justin
Justin
Monday, January 24, 2011
Hexadecimal colors
Today I learned about hexadecimal colors. A hexadecimal color is the computer code for a certain color. 6 characters can make any color that the human eye can detect. For example, 2468A0 is gray-blue. Hexadecimal colors are very interesting. They are cool.
Sahil
Sahil
HelloWorld
Today we programmed our virtual android phone with HelloWorld. We had to read our tutorials in the Android Developer kit. One of our files is called SuperBowlXLV. Sahil had to delete it because every time we typed in the name of the document it would not detect what we typed in.
Marco
Marco
Date Picker Troubles
Today I became quite frustrated with the complex tutorials especially on date picker trying to add codes to my class, not allowing to do the program. This also made me realize how challenging making a simple scroll list or a notes application is. Before this class I always took it for granted and thought making a tab was as easy as <tab3>, but today I was proven wrong with complex codes pages long. I am now much more aware of the labor it takes to make what I think is a simple app: calculator: it must have a huge code.
More or Less
Today, I got 3 more applications to work. They were pretty easy to program and my favorite is the Linear Layout. But later, when I tried to program some more applications, the computer wouldn't let me. I tried a lot of other different applications, but I got stuck on all of them. Hopefully, I'll be able to get them to work tomorrow.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day three
Today was day three. We are working on the tutorials. We are stumped. This is a great class. I love it I wish it would never end. We are almost at the making add process.
Jonah
Jonah
I like the android class
Today we are setting up our work bench in Eclipse. We really have to read the directions carefully. I also looked at the android application store. They have an app called Bubble Burst Lite. It's an a addictive game. You have to shoot certain colored bubbles.
Marco
Marco
Android Class
Today in Android class I had to switch groups, but that's fine. The computers me and Marco were working on kept messing up so I went to Sean and Sonal's group, while Marco went to Sahil and Jonah's group. But our group finally got an android phone on it.
: )
Adam
Got it to Work!
Today we got our virtual android phone to work. Last week we couldn't get because our computer wasn't working, but today we tried it on a different computer and it finally worked! It has internet on it and is just like a real android phone. The only thing that's different is that we can't text anybody or recieve any texts.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Planet of the Apps on CNBC
This evening I watched "Planet of the Apps" on CNBC. It's a news documentary about the development of the mobile app industry. The show focused nearly entirely on Apple iPhone apps because it first aired in January 2010. At that time, the smart phone market was dominated by Apple. But, during 2010, Android overtook Apple iOS in market share.
It was a good show. They followed several developers from their initial idea through publication in the App Store. They even interviewed a pair of middle school kids who developed a math review app. That was when I decided that I need to show this program to the kids in the class.
So, when should we watch it? It is airing again on Monday, Jan 17, which is the MLK holiday. So, I'll record it and bring it to school. I suppose I'll ask the kids next week what they would like to do. I had an idea that I would like to share it with a larger group beyond the kids in the class. I wondered if we could watch it during MS Town Meeting on Friday. It would probably be a bit too long even if I skipped the commercials. I thought about showing it after school. I'd like to invite the kids' parents so they could see what the kids were working on. Well, after we watched the show, the kids would explain what they worked on and what they learned. They would show shat they made and answer questions. I don't want to plan too much now because I don't know if they will really be able to make anything that looks impressive to others. I'll know more next week.
It was a good show. They followed several developers from their initial idea through publication in the App Store. They even interviewed a pair of middle school kids who developed a math review app. That was when I decided that I need to show this program to the kids in the class.
So, when should we watch it? It is airing again on Monday, Jan 17, which is the MLK holiday. So, I'll record it and bring it to school. I suppose I'll ask the kids next week what they would like to do. I had an idea that I would like to share it with a larger group beyond the kids in the class. I wondered if we could watch it during MS Town Meeting on Friday. It would probably be a bit too long even if I skipped the commercials. I thought about showing it after school. I'd like to invite the kids' parents so they could see what the kids were working on. Well, after we watched the show, the kids would explain what they worked on and what they learned. They would show shat they made and answer questions. I don't want to plan too much now because I don't know if they will really be able to make anything that looks impressive to others. I'll know more next week.
Creating virtual phone on android software
Today we downloaded three different pieces of software (Eclipse, SDK software, ADT Plug-in) to create a virtual phone on the computer. The phone can do anything the real phone can do. This makes it ideal to test app before you publish them. This way you know the app you publish works. Then we started working on the first tutorial in creating apps. we where about halfway done the app, but we got stuck when we had to write what we wanted the apps to do in the main(). We couldn't find it. But I still had a lot of fun.
Arnav
Arnav
Tried a Tutorial
My group and I tried a programming tutorial,but had many problems and were not able to create a program. I am still eager to continue with the program.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
figuring out the problems
Today the kids worked on figuring out all the glitches. I'm figuring out how to teach this way. For me, the class is both frustrating and exciting. It's exciting because I see kids doing amazing things. It's frustrating because I've got nine kids asking me questions and I don't know all the answers. But, not knowing the answers is also part of the excitement.
I am writing this blog with the knowledge that people who have control over my ability to teach this class again are reading it. That means David, Su, Katy, and the kids' parents. It has occurred to me to filter my thoughts, but if this experiment is going to work, I have to be completely transparent. That kind of transparency means writing about the things that go well and the things that don't go well. I can do so because I believe in the overall process of discovery learning.
I don't know how this class will turn out and I don't know how long it will take or how far we will get. Because of that uncertainty, I can't write a traditional lesson plan. But, I do have a plan. I know what the end goal is. The end goal is to write an app for the Android OS. I also have a plan that includes following the steps on the Android developer kit instruction page. I also know that middle school age kids have the ability to complete these tasks. I know that we have the equipment available and I know that I understand enough about programming that I can guide the students when they get stuck.
So, today I had two groups working on Macs, one group on Linux, and one group on Windows. The groups on the Macs got the farthest. The groups on Linux and Windows had trouble getting the SDK to load properly. If I can't get it figured out before next Monday then I'll just get them all on Macs and do it that way. They have all learned enough about installing the components that switching them to Macs won't limit their learning experience at all.
Then, I created this blog and added them as authors as a way to record this experience. An important part of this way of learning is to let the students discuss what they think they are learning. I can't know what they are learning unless I ask them. When I used to teach in the traditional way, I could deliver lessons full of content, but I never really knew what they were learning. Even if I gave them a test, I only knew that the students learned how to repeat the correct answers. I didn't know if they were actually internalizing anything. But now, I can read their blog entries and find out what they think they are learning and how they feel about it. These students know that there aren't any tests or quizzes or points of any kind. And they are all focused and motivated for two hours. It's actually important that we have a two hour block of time. This class would not work as well if I had to fit it into 48 minutes. The kids need time to struggle with the material and then more time to figure it out. It's when they figure it out on their own that the meaningful learning happens. I could give them detailed step-by-step instructions that would lead them to the end result, but they wouldn't really have learned anything. It would be no different than if I just gave them the answers.
I'm excited by the first two days. But, I realize it could all change next week. I don't think it will, but I'm looking forward to finding out.
I am writing this blog with the knowledge that people who have control over my ability to teach this class again are reading it. That means David, Su, Katy, and the kids' parents. It has occurred to me to filter my thoughts, but if this experiment is going to work, I have to be completely transparent. That kind of transparency means writing about the things that go well and the things that don't go well. I can do so because I believe in the overall process of discovery learning.
I don't know how this class will turn out and I don't know how long it will take or how far we will get. Because of that uncertainty, I can't write a traditional lesson plan. But, I do have a plan. I know what the end goal is. The end goal is to write an app for the Android OS. I also have a plan that includes following the steps on the Android developer kit instruction page. I also know that middle school age kids have the ability to complete these tasks. I know that we have the equipment available and I know that I understand enough about programming that I can guide the students when they get stuck.
So, today I had two groups working on Macs, one group on Linux, and one group on Windows. The groups on the Macs got the farthest. The groups on Linux and Windows had trouble getting the SDK to load properly. If I can't get it figured out before next Monday then I'll just get them all on Macs and do it that way. They have all learned enough about installing the components that switching them to Macs won't limit their learning experience at all.
Then, I created this blog and added them as authors as a way to record this experience. An important part of this way of learning is to let the students discuss what they think they are learning. I can't know what they are learning unless I ask them. When I used to teach in the traditional way, I could deliver lessons full of content, but I never really knew what they were learning. Even if I gave them a test, I only knew that the students learned how to repeat the correct answers. I didn't know if they were actually internalizing anything. But now, I can read their blog entries and find out what they think they are learning and how they feel about it. These students know that there aren't any tests or quizzes or points of any kind. And they are all focused and motivated for two hours. It's actually important that we have a two hour block of time. This class would not work as well if I had to fit it into 48 minutes. The kids need time to struggle with the material and then more time to figure it out. It's when they figure it out on their own that the meaningful learning happens. I could give them detailed step-by-step instructions that would lead them to the end result, but they wouldn't really have learned anything. It would be no different than if I just gave them the answers.
I'm excited by the first two days. But, I realize it could all change next week. I don't think it will, but I'm looking forward to finding out.
Online Cellphone
In class, we downloaded a cool virtual cellphone. Justin named it "prettyprettypony101." We changed the size to very big and very small, but we eventually had to change it back. We tried to give the phone more memory, but we couldn't. We did the tutorial to create a Hello World! app, but we couldn't do it. It was just too complex. Justin kept googling ponies on the online phone. It was a fun class.
Sam
Sam
We did a tutorial today
We did the tutorial today. To tell us about saving and how to do it. We also got our virtual phone to change size and send texts. But sadly it did not work :[ . our virtual phone is a 555 number so it is fake. But we can make apps and play them. So it was a good day. I love the class it is amazing.
We downloaded Eclipse
Today,we downloaded eclipse on our windows computer. We tried making a virtual android phone but we didn't download the SDK. I installed it several times but it wasn't set up in Eclipse. You have to install all three programs. We have have installed all three Eclipse, ADT, and SDK.
Fun Class(:
The Android virtual phone is really cool, but my computer is being weird and I can't get the AVD to work. I really like the class and I'm excited for when we get to design an app.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Android class starts today
Two months ago I got my first Android phone--a Samsung Intercept with Virgin Mobile. I loved it right away. I learned about the Android Market and installing apps on my phone. I also learned that people from all over design apps for the Android Market.
Soon, I came up with the idea that I would teach a course at Harford Day School showing students how to build an app for Android. Over the next weeks, I spoke with David Withrow about my idea. He told me to proceed and I read websites about how to download and install the Android SDK (software developer kit).
Two weeks before Winter Break, I presented my information to Su Harris. She liked the idea and suggested that I get the support of other teachers of students in grades 5-8. They also supported the idea. So, during the last week before break, I announced the class to the school. I wrote an announcement for the Wednesday Bulletin. On Thursday morning, I visited the 5th grade homerooms to explain the class. At the end of the day, I met with all the 6th graders to tell them. Friday morning, I explained the details to all the 7th and 8th grade students, who met in the MS commons. From all the questions I got, I thought I would be turning away students to keep the class from getting too big.
Then, I waited. I set up the website so parents and students would read about the class: https://sites.google.com/a/harfordday.org/cybergofer/android-programming-class. There was a permission slip for parents to sign and a registration form for students to complete online. I specifically designed the class so parents and students would have to go online to express their interest. I intentionally wanted to avoid a paper-based registration process.
In the first few days, I got only a few email inquiries from parents, but none from students. Two weeks went by and I didn't get any more inquiries. By this morning, I had had only 4 students registered and I began to wonder if my plan for a paperless registration was a mistake.
By the end of the day, I decided that a group of four would be a good size to initiate this kind of after school class. Well, about 2:45, I received an email message from a mother asking if it was too late for her son to join. I replied with my approval and went to tell the homeroom teacher. While I was in the hallway, a few other kids asked to join. So, by 3:15 I had nine kids in the media lab.
I've never been one for paperwork, so I got them started right away. I pointed them to the start page for the Android Developer Kit and told them to follow the directions. Because we were in the media lab, I divided the kids into groups and put some one Macs and some on Linux--one Ubuntu and one Mint.
The first hour was spent reading instructions, downloading and installing software, and just figuring things out. The students spent a lot of the time figuring things out on their own and asking me questions when they got stuck, but mostly they did it themselves.
By about 4:30, the first group got a virtual Android device to appear on the screen of the iMac. THEY MADE A PHONE!! It was exciting. Until that point, I wasn't really sure this class would work. But, I believed in the process of constructivist learning. I set up the environment and gave them the tools to succeed. Then I let them loose to struggle and succeed on their own. And they succeeded.
By 5:00 I figured out the paperwork and got permission slips from all the kids...or a promise to bring it tomorrow. All the parents showed up on time to get the kids and thanked me for offering this class. It was a good day.
Soon, I came up with the idea that I would teach a course at Harford Day School showing students how to build an app for Android. Over the next weeks, I spoke with David Withrow about my idea. He told me to proceed and I read websites about how to download and install the Android SDK (software developer kit).
Two weeks before Winter Break, I presented my information to Su Harris. She liked the idea and suggested that I get the support of other teachers of students in grades 5-8. They also supported the idea. So, during the last week before break, I announced the class to the school. I wrote an announcement for the Wednesday Bulletin. On Thursday morning, I visited the 5th grade homerooms to explain the class. At the end of the day, I met with all the 6th graders to tell them. Friday morning, I explained the details to all the 7th and 8th grade students, who met in the MS commons. From all the questions I got, I thought I would be turning away students to keep the class from getting too big.
Then, I waited. I set up the website so parents and students would read about the class: https://sites.google.com/a/harfordday.org/cybergofer/android-programming-class. There was a permission slip for parents to sign and a registration form for students to complete online. I specifically designed the class so parents and students would have to go online to express their interest. I intentionally wanted to avoid a paper-based registration process.
In the first few days, I got only a few email inquiries from parents, but none from students. Two weeks went by and I didn't get any more inquiries. By this morning, I had had only 4 students registered and I began to wonder if my plan for a paperless registration was a mistake.
By the end of the day, I decided that a group of four would be a good size to initiate this kind of after school class. Well, about 2:45, I received an email message from a mother asking if it was too late for her son to join. I replied with my approval and went to tell the homeroom teacher. While I was in the hallway, a few other kids asked to join. So, by 3:15 I had nine kids in the media lab.
I've never been one for paperwork, so I got them started right away. I pointed them to the start page for the Android Developer Kit and told them to follow the directions. Because we were in the media lab, I divided the kids into groups and put some one Macs and some on Linux--one Ubuntu and one Mint.
The first hour was spent reading instructions, downloading and installing software, and just figuring things out. The students spent a lot of the time figuring things out on their own and asking me questions when they got stuck, but mostly they did it themselves.
By about 4:30, the first group got a virtual Android device to appear on the screen of the iMac. THEY MADE A PHONE!! It was exciting. Until that point, I wasn't really sure this class would work. But, I believed in the process of constructivist learning. I set up the environment and gave them the tools to succeed. Then I let them loose to struggle and succeed on their own. And they succeeded.
By 5:00 I figured out the paperwork and got permission slips from all the kids...or a promise to bring it tomorrow. All the parents showed up on time to get the kids and thanked me for offering this class. It was a good day.
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