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Introduction to the Android Platform and AppInventor

Working Connections 2012

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Android Introduction

Android is a mobile phone and tablet Operating System

Competes with Apple’s iOS for iPhone and Windows Mobile

Based on Linux

2

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Android Supports

3

Multitasking Videocalling WebKit browser GPS Acceletometers (shaking, orientation) Magnetometers (compass) SQLite Database And much more…

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Documentation

4

The site for everything for Java development

http://developer.android.com/index.html

Also new training for developers

https://developer.android.com/training/index.html

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Android Marketplace

5

http://www.android.com/market Free and paid apps

70% goes to developers

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Amazon AppStore

Amazon has a store for Android applications also

http://www.amazon.com/mobile-apps/b/ref=sa_menu_adr_app4?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011

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AppInventor

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Why AppInventor?

Visual Language great for even non-techies No syntax to remember or mistype Highly organized Event driven Very high level and functional components Error free – only that blocks that fit will work! Very concrete – very few abstract concepts Supports multiple platforms

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App Inventor – What can we do? Create applications visually Can build

Games Informational apps Convenience apps Communication apps Web-based apps Location-sensitive apps And many more

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Capablities

Access to most of the phone functionality Invoke other apps Programming control logic Database access, both local and web Web informaiton source access (APIs) like

Facebook, Amazon, etc

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Limitation

Limited UI’s Limited access to the device Limited access to the web (only certain APIs) No polymorphism – the methods you see are

the ones you get Limited access to Android Market (used to be

NO access)

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Current Status Google has halted development and

“donated” to the public domain Center for Mobile Learning at MIT Media Lab

has “adopted” the product and will be continuing support and further development

Google took application down Jan 1,2012 MIT now has a new site up that we can use They also source code and instructions

available to set up your own hosting server

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The New Resources

Center for Mobile Learning http://mitmobilelearning.org/

AppInventor EDU Site http://appinventoredu.mit.edu/

Google University Consortium New and limited membership Email me if interested and I will make an

introduction

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Lets see how to use AppInventor Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl6EgyHwbA0&list=PL2D27126F35E50A1B&index=1&feature=plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieOAivCd-VM&list=PL2D27126F35E50A1B&index=2&feature=plpp_video

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Textbook resources http://www.amazon.com/App-Inventor-David-

Wolber/dp/1449397484

http://www.amazon.com/App-Inventor-Android-Experience-Required/dp/1119991331/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322522259&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Google-App-Inventor-Ralph-Roberts/dp/1849692122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322406356&sr=8-1

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Outreach

UNT Mobile App Camp debut this summer (fingers crossed)

Youth Radio Camp + Curriculum http

://appinventoredu.mit.edu/resources/youth-radios-mobile-action-lab-emerging-curriculum

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As a course (or portion)

https://sites.google.com/site/wellesleycs117fall11/

http://www.cs.trincoll.edu/~ram/cpsc110/ http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.083/

admin/fall-2011/calendar.html

http://www.appinventor.org/course-in-a-box https://sites.google.com/site/appinventoredu/

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What do you think?

How could you use this in your classrooms? What level of mobile app usage/development

would be appropriate for you?