5 – App Development

🎯 Learning Objectives

Develop the Programming and Development learning strand:

  • Use a block-based programming language to include sequencing and selection
  • Use user input in a block-based programming language
  • Use variables in a block-based programming language
  • Reflect and react to user feedback
💬 Key Vocabulary

  • Event-driven programming
  • event handler
  • input
  • checkbox
  • variables
  • sequence
  • object properties
  • object ids

📝 Starter Activity – Selection

These two blocks of code have the same purpose, which is to provide feedback to the user at the end of a game.

  • What would each block of code do if the user scored 7?
  • What is the difference between the two blocks of code?

Would selection improve your app? If so, where might you use it?

📝 Think big! What’s your plan?

Step 1

Get into your pairs from last lesson and:

  • Open your project on code.org
  • Open your Project Diary at the Milestone 1 slide

Step 2

  • In your pairs, read over what you achieved last lesson and what you said you could achieve this lesson
  • Discuss your plan of action for this lesson with your partner

📝 Pair programming reminder

While you are developing your project, you and your partner will take turns to be the driver and the navigator. You will swap roles regularly as directed by your teacher.

The driver: Your role is to control the keyboard and mouse and place the code block in the correct places.

The navigator: Your role is to help support the driver by watching for any mistakes, reading the instructions to the driver, or seeking support if needed.

How to be successful with pair programming:

  • Teamwork
  • Driver: focus on the code and workspace
  • Navigator: watch the code being entered by the driver, look at previous work and examples, and research the problem

Both partners must be contributing equally.

Until the last 10 minutes of the lesson, work through your decomposed steps.

Keep an eye on the success criteria!

📖 Preparing for feedback

How will you be able to measure whether or not the app has met the project brief?

Your project will first of all be judged by the success criteria that you have set.

What you will need:

  1. Your app needs to be open and ready to run.
  2. Your Project Diary should be open at the Feedback slide.
  3. Update the table to make sure all your success criteria have been added.

📝 Giving feedback

You will now swap apps with another pair and fill in the success criteria grid for their project.

  1. Read the success criteria.
  2. Open and run the app.
  3. Look again at the success criteria and write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the ‘Met?’ column.
  4. Write constructive feedback to support the other students, letting them know what they could do to help meet the success criteria.
  5. Complete the final box with what you think will be the most popular part of the app.

Remember:

The app you review is unlikely to be finished.

Feedback is meant to be constructive and supportive. Be kind, not critical.

📝 Plenary – Your Project Diary: Milestone 2

In your pairs, you now need to reflect on what you have achieved this lesson.

  1. Add a screenshot of your code or design window.
  2. Describe what you have achieved this lesson and any problems you had to overcome.
  3. Write down what you need to focus your attention on in the next lesson.

In this lesson, you…

  • Developed your app further
  • Reviewed your classmates’ apps and gave constructive feedback

Next lesson, you will…

  • Respond to the feedback and finalise your apps
  • Submit the project and take the final unit assessment

🏅 Badge it

🥈 Silver Badge

  • Complete the Feedback section of another pairs Project Diary and upload a screenshot to www.bournetolearn.com.
🥇 Gold Badge

  • Complete the Diary Milestone 2 section of your Project Diary and upload a screenshot to www.bournetolearn.com.
🥉 Platinum Badge

  • Complete the Diary Milestone 2 section of your Project Diary to an excellent standard and upload a screenshot to www.bournetolearn.com.