Stories from the Field

Executives from IRODORI, Inc. Visit App Inventor to Discuss Their Work in Broadening Social Impact

May 9, 2024

students and teacher work on app inventor

Link to Full Entry

Developing Apps to Learn Quantum Computing with App Inventor

Mar 19, 2024

Prof. Yamamoto explore Quantum Computing with App Inventor Our long time friend and collaborator Prof. Fujio Yamamoto explores Quantum Computing with App Inventor in his new blog.

Link to Full Entry

Digital Learning Diaries to document first steps of coding using MIT App Inventor

Nov 23, 2020

students and teacher work on app inventor

Link to Full Entry

DOT Lebanon Transforms Marginalized Youth into Social Innovators and Leaders with MIT App Inventor

Oct 24, 2019

In a country where opportunities are not equally available to everyone, and digital literacy is almost non-existent for those who live in marginalized areas, DOT (Digital Opportunity Trust) Lebanon outreaches to youth to enhance their digital skills and prepare them for the future of jobs. DOT Lebanon is...

Link to Full Entry

MakeIt Coding Club

May 29, 2019

Amidst the breathtaking Pamir mountains of Tajikistan and the diverse cultural fabric of the Kyrgyz Republic, students of Aga Khan Education Service (AKES) are using App Inventor to build apps for their local communities.

Link to Full Entry

Continued Success with App Inventor Workshops @ San Jose Public Libraries

May 21, 2019

In the Fall of 2018, San Jos Public Librarys Berryessa Branch Library in Santa Clara County was introduced to the existence of MIT App Inventor and the global community of app developers around it by a volunteer....

Link to Full Entry

Safe House App Wins App of the Month

May 3, 2019

This story is written by Ashvin Maheshwar, a junior at Saratoga High, who started a non-profit "No App Inventor Left Behind" last year to inspire, promote and teach kids to love coding and technology. November 26th, 2018 was a very exciting day for Desteny and Ashley, middle schoolers who have...

Link to Full Entry

MIT App Inventor Goes to FOSDEM

Mar 6, 2019

The following story is from MIT App Inventor Power User Peter Mathijssen.

For the first time App Inventor had a stand at Fosdem. FOSDEM is a two-day event organised by volunteers to promote the widespread use of free and open source software. Taking place at the Universit libre de Bruxelles...

Link to Full Entry

German Students Debate Artificial Intelligence

Feb 20, 2019

This is a guest story written by Matthias Mller and Andreas Weber. At the German International School Boston (GISB) students in grade 8 prepared a debate on the use of artificial intelligence in their German lessons. The debate culture in the 8th grade...

Link to Full Entry

Peninsula Bridge CS BootCamp

Dec 25, 2018

Last June 21-July 10, Peninsula Bridge partnered with Amazon Web Services and IDEO to offer a three-week long Computer Science BootCamp for 35 Peninsula Bridge high school students. For many this was their first computer science experience. Students learned about the basics of coding and logical thinking as well as...

Link to Full Entry

Coding Sisters Bring App Development to Middle School Girls

Sep 5, 2018

Roseville, MN - September 2018 On August 13, 2018, teenage sisters Grace Su (age 17) and Cindy Su (age 13) created and led a free two-week app development camp called Girls APPspirations at the Roseville Library. The program leaders stated, "We wanted to provide an opportunity for female students to...

Link to Full Entry

Refugees go digital: How we taught young refugees how to code

Oct 24, 2016

The project Refugees go digital is a series of workshops that addresses young refugees in so-called 'International Preparation Classes' in Hamburg/Germany - This story is written by Theresa Grotendorst, App Camps Germany.

Many young refugees in Germany are taught in so-called 'International preparation...

Link to Full Entry

Esquel Group App Inventor Journey in Empowering Employees

Sep 30, 2016

Founded in 1978, Esquel started as a shirt maker and has over the years developed the capacity to weave innovative technologies into its people-centric culture.

To change our employees perception of technology and develop their logical reasoning skills, programming capabilities, as well as computational thinking ability, the You Can Code!...

Link to Full Entry

Youth Radio partners with MIT App Inventor to create new app

Aug 11, 2015

Youth Radios first app for showcasing long-form reporting, designed and developed in collaboration with an MIT program, is now available for Android phones on the Google Play store. The app stemmed from Youth Radio Interactive, an initiative of the Oakland, Calif., media center that teaches young Link to Full Entry

Deerfield Community School - App Inventor Tablet Pilot

Jun 23, 2014

Supported by the MIT App Inventor team and Google Education, Deerfield Community School in Deerfield, NH launched a successful two-week pilot program in teacher Ellen O’Donnell’s seventh grade science class in...

Link to Full Entry

Computer App Programming (CAP) Competition in Hong Kong

Jun 20, 2014

On May 17, 2014, The Computer App Programming Competition (CAP 2014) or CAP Day was held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The competition was a great success and represents one of the largest collaborative efforts among university and secondary school teachers to promote programming education for secondary school students...

Link to Full Entry

Resaca Middle School Team Invited to 2014 White House Science Fair

Jun 2, 2014

Congratulations to the team of middle school students from Los Fresnos,Texas for garnering more accolades for their “Hello, Navi!”mobile app designed to assist the visually impaired in navigating their school. See the full article in the Brownsville Herald.

Link to Full Entry

OASIS members lighting the Innovation Spark in Young Minds

Apr 22, 2014

AT&T employees are actively involved in STEM training in their communities to promote and support innovation in young minds. In 2013, OASIS at AT&T (the South Asian Employee Organization at AT&T) set an ambitious goal to teach 1000 students how to make their own mobile applications using MIT App Inventor....

Link to Full Entry

Girls Code program in Utah encourages girls to pursue CS degrees

Mar 13, 2014

Girls Code At CTEC (Canyon Technology Education Center in Sandy, UT) is a program designed to introduce high school age girls to computer science and programming during the summer. It has operated since 2012 and has served 13 girls each year in the program. The girls learn...

Link to Full Entry

K-8 Division International App Winner

Dec 2, 2013

While many 12-year olds are playing video games or pulling pranks, this 12-year old came up with the idea for a winning app. Arjun Kumar won 1st place in the K-8 division of the 2012 MIT App Inventor competition. Arjun is a seventh grade student from Velammal Vidyashram school...

Link to Full Entry

Winning App Featured in TIME For Kids

Sep 15, 2013

A team of middle schoolers from North Dakota poses with their new app, Recycling Bin

TIME for Kids featured this story about a team of North Dakota middle school students who used App Inventor to create an app to encourage more recycling in their community. The students...

Link to Full Entry

Idaho Upward Bound Program Teaches College Readiness with App Inventor

Aug 5, 2013

Yu-Chang Hsu, a professor of educational technology at Boise State University, usually teaches grad students. But for the past two summers, he has taught high school seniors to make their own apps with App Inventor, as part of Upward Bound, a program designed to prepare low-income students for college enrollment....

Link to Full Entry

Plant Data Collector: a field biologists personal assistant

Jul 24, 2013

Jere Boudell is a professor of biology at Clayton State University. When she showed us her app for collecting botanical data in the field, we were eager to have her share her story (below).

The Plant Data Collector app is an app Ive wanted to create since I was a...

Link to Full Entry

East Palo Alto girls create app to clean up graffiti, trash

May 24, 2013

Technovation Challenge is the worlds largest and longest-running tech competition for girls. High school girls work with MIT App Inventor to design their own mobile apps in response to the question, What is a problem in your community for which you could create an app as a solution? This year...

Link to Full Entry

Technovation Challenge Winning App, I.O.U, now available on Google Play

Sep 24, 2012

Ever wonder where something went, and realized that you had loaned it to someone the week before? Tired of keeping track of the money you owe your friends? I.O.U, an Android app created by high school girls using App Inventor, allows you to keep track of items and money that...

Link to Full Entry

App Inventor in Taiwan

Jul 23, 2012

The CAVE Education Group promotes robotics education in Taiwan. Their website http://www.appinventor.tw/ hosts many App Inventor lessons, particularly ones involving the LEGO MINDSTORMS components. In May 2012, the CAVE Education Groupreleased a book in Mandarin Chinese so that App Inventor users around the world would be able to follow tutorials...

Link to Full Entry

United States Marines use App Inventor in the Field

Jun 18, 2012

Chris Metzger, United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant, has used App Inventor to create an app that helps other Marines destroy weaponry captured in the field. In his words, he is creating an app that calculates net explosive weights so that [his] fellow Marines can utilize it in country to...

Link to Full Entry

I’ll Write That App for You

May 16, 2012

My name is Pauline Lake and I am one of two Trinity College students whom was chosen to work with Trinity College's Humanitarian Free Open Source Software (HFOSS) during the summer of 2010. That summer I worked with another Trinity College student and two high school teachers to learn...

Link to Full Entry

Teaching Mobile App Design with App Inventor at Boise State University

May 16, 2012

At Boise State University, we offered an online workshop in summer 2011 and an online graduate course in fall 2011 on mobile app design for teaching and learning using App Inventor. The workshop was offered through Extended Studies, and the course was offered through Department of Educational Technology. Similar to...

Link to Full Entry

Teaching Teachers About Mobile Technology

May 16, 2012

Professor Richard Carter in the Graduate School of Education at Lesley University

Lesley University (Cambridge, MA) offers a master's degree for K-12 teachers in Technology in Education. As part of the program we believe that teachers should not only to learn about the latest technologies, but also have the opportunity...

Link to Full Entry

Relevant and Real World Computing in the UK

May 16, 2012

In August 2011, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Computer Society asked Jeremy Scott to exemplify the teaching of Computing Science to Scotland’s junior high school students. Here’s his App Inventor story…

For over twenty years, desktop operating systems were the basis of most...

Link to Full Entry

Introducing Kids to Cutting Edge Technologies

May 16, 2012

Late in the 2010-2011 school year my principal approached me about taking on a new class the following school year. His idea was to create a course that would provide our students with the chance to experience cutting edge technologies. I agreed to teach the course, and embarked on my...

Link to Full Entry

A Young Adult’s Reflections on App Inventor

May 16, 2012

Youth work on Apps with MIT App InventorEver try teaching computer science to a group of teenagers right after they get out of a long day at school? I would expect it to be remarkably difficult and frustrating. But that’s just what I...

Link to Full Entry

An App for Women’s Health

Apr 16, 2012

I have been a women’s health Nurse Practitioner for 23 years. As part of my doctoral capstone project at Regis College I decided to develop a mobile app to educate women about the Pap test. Working closely with Professor Ralph Morelli at Trinity College, we met weekly...

Link to Full Entry

After School with App Inventor in Ireland

Apr 16, 2012

Last May I started playing around with the idea of doing some sessions on Google App Inventor in my kids' Primary (K-12) School. I'd had great success trying it out with three of my own kids aged 12 to 7.

I am a member of the school's Parent's Association and...

Link to Full Entry