developing ipad apps for extension education
TRANSCRIPT
DEVELOPING IPAD APPS FOR EXTENSION EDUCATION
Sondra M. Parmer, PhD
Greg Parmer, MEd
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
WE B
EGAN WIT
H A
CURRICULU
M BODY
QUEST:
FOOD O
F TH
E W
ARRIOR
We
wan
ted th
e co
ncepts
of t
he iP
ad a
pps to
alig
n with
the
less
ons
for a
rese
arch
stu
dy.
GOALS
Reinforcement of Body Quest Curriculum Content• 6 lessons
Maintainability• security and app updates
Portability• creating MOBILE classrooms
Accessibility• limited internet connectivity
Likability• engage kids in technology
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL: NETBOOKS
300 Netbooks
24 Kyocera routers
24 Verizon AirCards
Flash Enabled Website
POSSIBILITY?
Released Spring 2010
Lightweight
Reduced Maintenance
But No Flash!
CAN WE MAKE IT HAPPEN?
Released Spring 2010
What we had:
Curriculum
Script Outline
What we thought we needed:
Developer
TWO PHD STUDENTS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AT AUBURN UNIVERSITY
STORYBOARDS HAD TO BE DEVELOPED FOR APP
TEAM EFFORT: NEEDED SHARED STORAGE
AFTER STORYBOARDS, FINDING VOICE TALENT WAS NEXT ON
THE LIST
ANIMATION OF ARTWORK
ALL THE PIECES WERE GATHERED TOGETHER SO THAT APP WRITING
COULD BEGIN• Animations with recorded dialogue
• Sound effects
• Music
• Game concepts
• Images
APP DEPLOYMENT
ONE APP PROTOTYPE DEVELOPED AND TESTED WITH KIDS
BASED ON PROTOTYPE, CHANGES WERE MADE
Since the original prototype, there have been:
•2,480 committed changes
•More than 70 versions of apps created
•And we are not done yet.
DISTRIBUTION OF UPDATES
Casper Suite from JAMF Software
Management (for BQ as well as other devices)
In-House App Distribution
Student device lockdown
TIMELINE
• TIME!
• Voice talent
• Student software engineers: limited time, limited skills
• TIME!
• Learning curve
• Comfort levels of educators
• TIME!
• Knowing when enough is enough
• Maintenance
• Cost (>$500,000)
• TIME – TIME – and more TIME !
CHALLENGES OF APP DEVELOPMENT
SUCCESSES OF APP DEVELOPMENT
• Extension educators, school teachers and school administration love it
• Doors opened for us in terms of academic time in public classrooms
• Team/Collaborative process
GOALS
Reinforcement of Body Quest Curriculum Content• 6 lessons = 6 Apps plus an Introductory App
Maintainability• security and app updates = Casper Suite (inventory too!)
Portability• creating MOBILE classrooms = 10 iPads/storage case (2 per
class)
Accessibility• limited internet connectivity = Updates/maintenance in office
Likability• engage kids in technology ==========>
KIDS LOVE IT!!!