MIT App Inventor
Code and compile fully functional native Android apps.
Program Overview
MIT App Inventor empowers students to become mobile creators by building functional apps for smartphones. Students learn the full product lifecycle: UI/UX layout alignment, canvas drawing, mobile sensor integrations, local data storage, and compiling software into installable APK files. Drag-and-drop interfaces allow kids to focus on mobile logic, creating games, tools, and emergency systems that they can immediately run on their own phones.
Course Syllabus & Timeline
App Layouts & UI/UX Design
- Understanding screen grids, vertical/horizontal layouts, and aspect scaling
- Managing button clicks, text input fields, and image sprites
- Building multi-screen app navigation and structured user flows
- Setting up native Android emulation tools and live companion tests
- Calibrating layouts for responsive scaling on tablets and phones
Mobile Sensor Integration
- Accessing phone accelerometer values to trigger shake and tilt actions
- Integrating Text-to-Speech (TTS) engines and voice recognizer tools
- Using phone camera triggers to capture, save, and display photos in-app
- Coding audio players, sound loops, and device vibration sequences
- Mapping canvas sprites to develop mobile touch-controller actions
GPS, Maps & Databases
- Integrating GPS location sensors to fetch device latitude and longitude
- Linking with Google Maps API to overlay active markers
- TinyDB: Storing user preferences, high scores, and logs locally on device
- Coding search functions, note-taking lists, and sorting text datasets
- Introducing Web API components to fetch live online data
Publishing & Security Logic
- Designing custom launcher icons, splash screens, and load bars
- Creating app verification prompts, passwords, and security checks
- Debugging runtime block exceptions and log reports
- Compiling finished mobile code into native Android packages (.apk)
- Installing, testing, and presenting completed personal mobile apps
Key Projects Hand-built
Rather than memorizing abstract rules, kids learn by prototyping solutions. Here are three primary projects built in this course:
Shake-to-Translate Utility
An app that records voice inputs, translates the spoken words into foreign languages, and speaks the translation when the device is shaken.
Personal GPS Safety Tracker
A coordinates utility app that marks the user on a live map and triggers automated emergency SMS containing Google Map links to pre-saved numbers.
Whack-a-Mole Canvas Game
A touch-sensitive game where moles pop up randomly on a canvas layout, updating scoreboard registers and playing sounds on successful taps.
Course Details
Book a Free Trial
Let your child build their first circuit or write their first lines of code in a guided trial session.
