Revamping the Classroom - Teaching Mobile App Software Development Using Creative Inquiry

Roy P. Pargas, Barbara J. Speziale

2014

Abstract

Teaching mobile device software development is challenging. Almost everything about it is different from teaching a traditional software development class in which the target computer (on which the software developed by the students is to run) is a laptop or desktop computer. In a mobile device software development course, the target computer is a device (smartphone or tablet) that has a large number of features (Internet access, camera, GPS, gyroscope, media display, etc.) accessible by software. The material that must be covered in such as course is so broad that new approaches to delivering course content must be used. This paper describes the overall method by which we teach such a course. We describe four challenges and explain how we address each. We describe the structure of the course in detail, explain how a class policy of open collaboration and a university program called Creative Inquiry complement the proposed approach. We conclude with student evaluations and examples of apps we have produced over the past several years.

References

  1. Apple, Inc., https://developer.apple.com, 2013.
  2. Baruch Public Service, Vanishing Firefly Project, http://www.clemson.edu/public/rec/baruch/firefly_proj ect/, 2013.
  3. Business Wire, Apple Cedes Market Share, http:// www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130807005280/ en/Apple-Cedes-Market-Share-SmartphoneOperating-System, August 6, 2013.
  4. DesLauriers L, Schelew E, and Wieman C. Improved Learning in a Large-enrollment Physics Class. Science 332: 862-864, 2011.
  5. Fluid, https://fluidui.com, 2013.
  6. Google, Inc., https://developer.android.com, 2013.
  7. Hegarty, Paul, Coding Together: Developing Apps for iPhone and iPad (Winter 2013),
  8. https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/coding-togetherdeveloping/id593208016.
  9. J. K. Muppala, Teaching Embedded Software Concepts Using Android, Proc. 2011 Workshop on Embedded Systems Education (WESE 2011), EMSOFT 2011, Taipei, Taiwan, Oct. 13, 2011.
  10. Nielsen, Who's Winning the U.S. Smartphone Market,http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2013/ whos-winning-the-u-s-smartphone-market-.html, August 6, 2013.
  11. Parlante, Nick, CS193a Android Programming http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs193a/, 2011.
  12. Sparks, Elisa and Pargas, Roy, Hands on the iPad: Crafting a Visual Guide to Place in Woolf, The 23rd Annual Conference, Virginia Woolf and the Common (Wealth) Reader, Vancouver, BC, Canada, June 6-9, 2013.
  13. Walvoord B. E., and Anderson V. J., Effective grading: A tool for learning and assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.
Download


Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

P. Pargas R. and J. Speziale B. (2014). Revamping the Classroom - Teaching Mobile App Software Development Using Creative Inquiry . In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 3: CSEDU, ISBN 978-989-758-022-2, pages 71-79. DOI: 10.5220/0004847800710079


in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu14,
author={Roy P. Pargas and Barbara J. Speziale},
title={Revamping the Classroom - Teaching Mobile App Software Development Using Creative Inquiry},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 3: CSEDU,},
year={2014},
pages={71-79},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0004847800710079},
isbn={978-989-758-022-2},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 3: CSEDU,
TI - Revamping the Classroom - Teaching Mobile App Software Development Using Creative Inquiry
SN - 978-989-758-022-2
AU - P. Pargas R.
AU - J. Speziale B.
PY - 2014
SP - 71
EP - 79
DO - 10.5220/0004847800710079