EdTech 534 Blog

Welcome to my blog! I will be using this space to share my journey as I learn how to design Android applications using MIT APP Inventor 2. Come back each week as I share what I have been working on, what I have learned, what I may struggle with, and how the process aids in my professional career as an instructional designer.

Hello Purr: September 7th 2025 - September 14th 2025

This week I built my first app in MIT App Inventor 2, Hello Purr. While the app itself was simple, adding customizations such as adding a picture of my personal cat, adding different sounds, and changing the coloring of the text boxes made the process feel more personal and helped me get a feel for the program as a whole. Adding the customizations also led me to run into some small challenges, such as figuring out how to resize the images so they display properly.

One of my personal issues with MIT App Inventor 2 is that it only uses code blocks. While this approach makes coding more accesible for beginners, I feel limited not being able to write or experiment using traditional code. As an instructional designer, I see the value in allowing both options. Block coding can provide a good entry point for younger developers or those just starting out, removing some of the intimitation or information overload. However text-based coding allows for more flexibility and deeper problem solving.

Paint Pot: September 14th 2025 - September 21st 2025

This week I worked on building the PaintPot application in MIT App Inventor 2. The first version followed the textbook directions step by step, which helped me understand how the app is meant to function at its basic level. This process also helped me to reinforce some of the information learned last week, such as how to navigate around the interface, as well as find and edit the necessary components. For my customization, I decided to adjust the way the app changes the sizing of the dots. Instead of using buttons to change the dots to small or big, I replaced the buttons with a slider. I really liked this change as it gives the user more freedom and flexibility to choose what size they want, rather than being limited.

If I were to continue improving this app, my next step would be to add a color selector. Currenlty users only have access to three colors, but expanding this and allowing for a larger palette would make the app feel much more open and allow for more creativity.