MIT Master Trainer in Educational Mobile Computing Program

The 2020 MIT Master Trainer in Educational Mobile Computing course is cancelled, due to the ongoing COVID19 situation. MIT App Inventor is working on a possible online course as an alternative, hopefully to be run in the autumn of 2020. Updates will be posted here.

Course Summary

MIT will offer a Master Trainers Program to certify K-16 educators and other professionals in mobile computing education using the MIT App Inventor platform. This professional development program will continue to grow a global community of experts on mobile app development who are available to guide others through the exploration of mobile app creation. These experts will lead workshops in communities, schools, and afterschool programs to empower teachers and students as they become mobile app designers, thus providing a pathway into computer science, software development, and other disciplines relevant in today's digital world.

Benefits

MIT App Inventor Certified Master Trainers join an elite cadre of experts able to promote computer science education, conduct MIT App Inventor trainings to groups of educators and/or students and serve as a resource for educators and teachers who seek to infuse mobile computing education into their organizations, programs, and classrooms. Participants will receive an official MIT Certificate of Completion after successfully finishing the 3-day in-person workshop. Their names will be added as Certified Master Trainers to the MIT App Inventor website.

Cost

$3500. This includes the $75 application fee.

There will be a limited number of scholarships available.

Prerequisites

  • 6-week App Inventor Mobile Computing with App Inventor – CS Principles MOOC ((ID-Verified Certificate of Achievement: $50)offered by edX beginning on March 17, 2020 or proof of App Inventor teaching experience
  • Master Trainer applicants who already have experience teaching App Inventor can submit proof of coursework taught in lieu of taking Mobile Computing with App Inventor – CS Principles

Background

MIT has been a leader in computing as an educational activity for K-12 students since the 1960’s. That leadership began with the seminal work of Seymour Papert, work that is today more influential than ever. The same research is assuming a major role in the emerging world of mobile computing, through MIT App Inventor. App Inventor is a free, blocks-based visual programming language that enables everyone, even those with no prior coding experience, to create mobile apps for Android devices. Currently, over 10 million MIT App Inventor users from 195 countries have created over 43 million mobile apps in the easy-to-use web application. Beyond teaching people to code and providing an on-ramp to computer science, MIT App Inventor users also learn a wealth of other skills including: computational thinking, engineering design, and entrepreneurship.

Learning Objectives

Master Trainers will develop expertise in the following areas:

  • The App Inventor Mission and Mobile Computing Education
  • App Inventor Technical Set-up, Platform Navigation, Software Development & Trouble-Shooting
  • Computer Science Principles, Design Thinking Processes, Computational Thinking, Computational Action
  • Pedagogy for Mobile App Development
  • Accessing resources: tutorials, forums, contests, camps, etc.
  • Entrepreneurship opportunities (in app development and for trainers)

Who Should Attend

An ideal participant is someone with:

  • An aptitude or excitement for coding or computer science
  • Knowledge of pedagogy or teaching experience
  • A passion for ed tech, computer science and problem solving
  • An interest in mobile computing education

Potential participants:

  • Teachers who have used Scratch and/or App Inventor in their classroom and want to expand upon that level of engagement
  • Teachers who want to use technology in their classroom (for CS or non-CS classes)
  • Graduate students or recent graduates who have a computer science background and are interested in teaching or ed tech
  • Former classroom teachers who are pursuing other educational endeavors
  • Club leaders who would like to infuse technology education into their after-school programs
  • Professors who want to teach mobile app making in a college setting
  • Post-docs who seek to supplement their knowledge or research

Laptops and Android mobile devices are required for this program.

MIT App Inventor