Python Practice - My attempt

# Receive and Return
# Demonstrates parameters and return values

def display(message):
    print(message)

def give_me_five():
    five = 5
    return five

def ask_yes_no(question):
    """Ask a yes or no question."""
    response = None
    while response not in ("y", "n"):
        response = input(question).lower()
    return response

# main
display("Here's a message for you.\n")

number = give_me_five()
print("Here's what I got from give_me_five():", number)

answer = ask_yes_no("\nPlease enter 'y' or 'n': ")
print("Thanks for entering:", answer)

input("\n\nPress the enter key to exit.")

Apps for Good #TraintheTrainer update session

Apps for Good 2013/14

Can be a mobile, web (Chrome examples) or Facebook app next year.

Course

More flexible course framework. 

1. Market research includes basic prototyping - what makes the app unique? GET AN EXPERT IN (at least 5?!). Look at download figures for existing apps and user reviews – improvements.
2. Aim to add more new tech ideas – show pupils examples of what is out there: Google specs/4square and look in to the features of a smart phone for ideas.
3. Encourage less attachment to initial ideas. 5-10 ideas and elevator pitches (Carousel? ppt Slide 31).
4. Screening - +1 or -1 for scoping questions. (in ppt S34) Is it feasible?
5. Market scoping - who is going to buy it? Questions (S37)
6. Technical scoping – What is out there? Don’t lose the quality of the core features by trying to add on too many extras. (S40)
7. Access to data -  pupils can talk to experts about what is realistic. Where is it coming from? Where will it be stored? Does it require multiple user input? (S41)
8. Business model – no longer need to make their own (post-it note sheet). Will just have to justify which model would suit their product best.
9. MVP – Minimum Viable Product. Basic steps of what it does. (select destination, find current location, find route)

Coding

AppShed – new software. Account info will be emailed to us. Simpler than App Inventor.

Chrome/IE/Firefox – Usable on more devices? Anything with a web browser.

General aims

More expert visits. Recommend 5! Have user experience experts.

More scope for coding.

Fail and fail often -  It’s ok to fail.

Webinars for sections of the course.

Entry for next year

Entry - online team diary for keeping track of progress (at the end of each module). MUST upload at end of each module. Only us, experts and AfG can see this. No-one else. Experts will look at this before visit.

NO ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM LIKE THIS YEAR.

Only the presentation and a video. Not separate tasks.

Course checklist on support page.

Each module has a web page in the Educator zone. Topic plan. Videos and activities/resources.

Bigger emphasis on the elevator pitch video. No problem video!

Live at the end of June.

Add a course for each class. (1 after school) Print screen the group user names and passwords. Can’t go back to this page.

Add educators – must include Skype username.

Request an expert. (At least 2 weeks before needed)

Competition

Regional events to pitch if you don't make it through.

TO DO:

Need to set up course for next year.
Plan expert visits in to modules. – initial idea feedback (Bob), market research, technical feasibility.

Wildern AfG Blog is coming..

This year's Wildern Apps for Good Blog is coming... It still needs tweaking!

It will be used to share resources with pupils as well as provide a platform for pupils to reflect on their progress so far.

AfG Train the Trainer - Day 2

Today was very interesting. First we were taken through a Business Canvas model. A way of trying to explain all aspects of the App including cost, customer, value and key partners. This is something I feel would be better practised with a Business class before approaching with a non-business group. 

I loved the idea of developing it as an interactive display board that pupils can alter as their idea evolves. Particularly as I have been involved in a Creativity SIG (School Improvement Group) that focused on trying to understand what makes teachers and pupils creative and how to promote creativity across the school.

For my project, I looked in to allowing pupils to be creative with their surroundings via interactive display boards. I thought that pupils could use the display board not only as Business Canvas model but as a form of mood board of developing ideas. This is something that is done often in "real-life" offices and so is good practice for the pupils.

Step 4 introduced us to Balsamiq. This is a tool for creating wire frames (mock-ups) of the App to show how the APP will look on each screen. It is a drag and drop piece of software that produces image such as the one shown below. 

To Do list from today:

• Introduction to Apps for Good for Year 8 pupils' Activities Week.
• Stack Exchange task.
• Work out pupil recruitment plan.

Overall, a really enjoyable and worthwhile course. Lots of ideas to take back to Wildern. Especially as we are going to introduce this to our Key Stage 3 during Activities week next week. The recruitment drive has started!

Apps for Good Train the Trainer Course

Today my colleague Pam and I attended the first day of the Apps for Good Train the Trainer course. We are here to learn how to teach the course to pupils from September. Wildern currently run it as an after school extra-curricular course that pupils were invited to join from Year 8. Even though this was our first year as a school running the programme, we managed to get 2 out of our 3 groups (Smart Revise and MApp Your Way) in to next week's final in London. Not bad for a first attempt!

Aims
My main aim of coming on the course was to see how I could link business in. Having gone through the course overview today I found that there is quite a lot of Business already part of the course: 

• The aim of the project is to find a solution to a problem, something we promote in business through entrepreneurship.
• Pupils have to carry out market research and create a user profile for their problem/app idea.
• Pupils have to create a Business Canvas model -Taking in to account the Solution, Complications, Question & Answer.
• Pupils have to use a 5 step development model as shown in the diagram below.

                             

We had, within the business department, considered integrating this in to our Year 9 foundation year but after seeing the time needed for the course, do not think this will be possible. Another of my aims, however, is to get more Business pupils involved and if possible to set up a competition between myself with some Biz kids and Pam with some IT kids just to add a bit more competitiveness to the course. (Not that they'll need it!)

Fame at last

During our lunch break, Pam and I were approached and asked to be interviewed for a film to be shown at the finals. Mass hair and make-up panic ensued but we agreed and shall appear (if we're not edited out for giggling too much) in the video in next week's final. We, of course, made sure to mention Wildern in every other sentence but failed miserably in mentioning Sharon who led the course to success this year! However, Debbie the COO of Apps for Good did that for us, thank goodness.