CS4HS Workshop: Android App Inventor

CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) is an initiative sponsored by Google to promote Computer Science and Computational Thinking in high school and middle school curriculum. With a grant from Google’s Education Group, the College of St. Scholastica will offer a free online workshop in July 2013, helping teachers learn how to incorporate Android App Inventor in their curriculum.  The workshop will be facilitated by Chery Takkunen in the School of Education and Jennifer Rosato in the Computer Science Department.  Participants will also have the option to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or complete a follow-up project to receive graduate education credits.

Why Your School Should Teach App Inventor:

Workshop Goals:

• to provide computing education professional development to educators
• to create a network of teachers interested in computing education
• to share best practices for computing in 5-12th grades, including inclusive pedagogy for underrepresented groups
• to empower educators to advocate for computing education in their community

Workshop Schedule (tentative):

• Getting Started – week of June 30th
  Learn more about the workshop, the course tools, the instructors and other participants
• Unit 1- week of July 7th
  Learn about computational thinking and creating basic apps using App Inventor 
• Unit 2 – week of July 14th
   Learn about tech job fields and using more App Inventor features
• Unit 3 – week of July 21st
  Learn to integrate App Inventor projects with your curriculum and attract diverse students to computing
• Unit 4 – week of July 28th
   Create your own curriculum unit then review and share projects with peers
• (Optional) Implement curriculum for graduate credit – Fall 2013
  Requires $375 fee for 3 graduate education credits

Recommendations

• Technical requirements – Gmail account (required), high speed internet, microphone and webcam (recommended), App Inventor system requirements
• Skill level – comfortable with sending emails and attachments, downloading files, viewing videos, web searching
• Teaching level – middle school or higher, pre-service and in-service teachers welcome as well as those running after school programs
• Join with a colleague!  Just like sharing New Year’s resolutions means you’re more likely to complete them, joining with a fellow educator will make it easier for you to complete the workshop as well as give each other support in using App Inventor at your school.

Interested?  Register by completing the form below.  Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited.  A waiting list will be formed when the workshop is full.  

Questions? Please contact Jen Rosato (jrosato at css.edu) or Chery Takkunen (ctakkune at css.edu) for more information.