FAQs for Schools
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Q: Who is this course aimed at? Is it designed only for my school’s “computer geeks”?
A: While this course gives the opportunity to begin some very basic programming, it is NOT a computing course. It is designed for students who have no experience of programming but rather an enthusiasm for using technology like smartphones, social networking etc. It does cover some programming, but the focus of the course is much broader. As well as learning the whole software development cycle, students will use a range of software, learn business and entrepreneurial skills as well as improve their teamwork and communication skills.
Many students who complete the course report an increased interest in programming and/or a career in technology. More generally, this course has proven highly motivational for both gifted and talented students, as well as for students who are becoming disaffected with school. Students report particularly valuing opportunity to work on “real world” problems and to produce outcomes for a genuine audience.
Q: What age group is this designed for? Can it be used as part of the IT curriculum?
A: While it was originally designed to be delivered to students aged 13-18 as an out-of-hours course, many of our schools are delivering it as part of the curriculum, to enrich existing examination courses and/or as a series of enrichment days. Michael Gove’s announcements at BETT this year now free up even more schools to follow this approach (see the text and video of his speech here). Currently the two most popular approaches are delivery in Year 9 or a cross-year approach.
Q: How long does the course last? How should we structure it?
A: The course lasts approximately 50-70 contact hours, and flexibly allows the school to deliver sessions of a length and frequency that fits its own needs. The majority of schools offer a weekly session with “top up” sessions on enrichment days, inset days, etc. Please note that, if a school becomes a certified partner, it is required to deliver the course in full in a single academic year.
Q: How is Apps for Good different from standard ICT classes?
A: The emphasis of most traditional ICT courses tends to be a high-level overview of how technology works and primarily teaches students basic user skills. This course moves them from mere users or consumers to creators and problem-solvers. Students learn all the steps in the software product development process in a very hands-on, practical way, from problem definition through to product development and design, marketing, and then to “build and test”. Apps that are successfully designed may be selected for professional build at the end of the course through the national apps competition, and released for download as alpha versions on Google’s Android Market. So students are able to create outputs that solve real problems and potentially can even see these through to a real product.
Q: What qualification/certification will students get when finishing the Apps for Good course?
A: Every participant successfully completing the Apps for Good course through a Certified Partner will receive a certificate that is supported by Dell and our network of professional app designers and developers but this is not a formal qualification. We are working hard to bring more leading technology companies on board in order to increase the value of this further. We are reviewing a range of accreditation models in 2012/2013, but schools should note that currently this course is not specifically mapped to any formal qualification.
Q: What sort of apps will the students design?
A: We do not limit the range of ideas suggested from students as long as they are legal, and provided they contribute to solving a problem (i.e., not purely commercial or purely entertaining). We are passionate and very serious about bottom-up, student-driven innovation and expect course leaders to implement this approach in all Apps for Good courses.
Q: How much experience/expertise does the course leader need to deliver the Certified Partner course?
A: The course does not require extensive IT/programming skills or experience. The “train the trainer” course will cover all skills and knowledge required for course delivery and educators will have access to the online expert community throughout the course. Whilst Apps for Good is not the same as traditional ICT, IT teachers should find the course straightforward to deliver, as would most teachers who are confident and enthusiastic in the use of technology. The course could also be delivered by teaching assistants, network managers, PTA/governors, librarians, etc., so long as this fits with a school’s supervision/safeguarding policies. Some schools are also piloting student instructors, with a teacher to assist with supervision.
Q: How much time will it take the teacher/educator to be trained? To deliver the course?
A: The course does not require extensive IT/programming skills or experience, but rather someone who is motivated and committed to learning new skills and to work as a facilitator in learning rather than the “expert”. The students will also benefit if the leader can occasionally draw in expertise from other departments, namely Business Studies, Media and English. Both schools and students have reported great success and high student motivation from this cross-curricular approach.
The “train the trainer” course will cover the core skills and knowledge required for course delivery and course leaders will have access to the online expert community throughout the course. Course leaders will then need to use the various online tutorials to familiarise themselves with using App Inventor. Whilst Apps for Good is not the same as traditional ICT, IT teachers should find the course straightforward to deliver, as would most teachers who are confident and enthusiastic in the use of technology. The course could also be delivered by teaching assistants, network managers, PTA/governors, librarians, etc., so long as this fits with a school’s supervision/safeguarding policies.
Q: How much time will it take the teacher/ educator to be trained to deliver the course?
A: All Certified and Affiliate Partners are required to send their designated course leader(s) to a free 2-day “Train the Trainer” course held in June 2012. In terms of preparation time for each session, this will vary according to the teaching experience as well as familiarity with the course and App Inventor, but in general, preparation and follow-up to each session will take approx. 1 hour for first-time delivery.
Q. As well as the training, what support will the Certified Partner course educator receive?
A: Educators will have access to our Online Education platform including lesson plans for each session, video clips from past courses and course artefacts. There will also be online and in-person support from Apps for Good staff, and access to both the Apps for Good Expert Community of designers and developers, and to the peer-to-peer educator community. Our education team will also regularly visit and email our partners to support them in the delivery of the course.
Q: How else would my school benefit from this course?
A: Certified Partner Schools will have free, priority access to on-going expert support in the delivery of the course through the Apps for Good Expert Community, as well as invitations to a range of master-classes and networking events with professionals in the technology and app industry. Affiliate Partner Schools will have some access to both the expert community and to online-only support from CDI staff. This will provide staff with invaluable free CPD and help the school engage with a range of technology and media employers and organisations with a genuine interest in education. There are also a range of PR opportunities both locally and nationally for students and their schools.
Q: What equipment will my school need?
A: In order to run the course effectively, as a minimum you need to provide 1 laptop and 1 smartphone per team of 3-5 students. This will allow teams to record problem videos with the phones, use apps and learn about the functionality of smartphones and to use tools like App Inventor for Android on the laptops for design and development of the apps. All computers/ laptops used by the students during the course should have Java, Google Chrome and the App Inventor for Android extras software installed.
Q: I’ll want my students to use their own smart phones. Does it matter if they use iPhones or Android or other smartphone platforms?
A: The vast majority of the course is not platform specific and students can also use their iPhones or other smart phones. However, the Apps for Good course is currently focused on building apps for the Android platform. Thus for students to work most effectively during the course, it is recommended that each team of 3-5 students will need an Android-based phone. If there is demand from schools and students, we will also consider looking at other mobile platforms like Blackberry or Windows 7 mobile to be part of the options of running the course.
Q: I’ve heard some schools get free equipment to take part; can my school do this?
A: We offer free mobile equipment to schools that become subsidised Certified Partners of Apps for Good (see Overview). In order to qualify, schools will need to show at least one of the following:
- that a significant number of their students come from low-income communities
- that the number of students known to be eligible for free school meals is above the national average
- the proportion of those whose first language is not English is high
- the proportion of students registered by the school as having special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national figure
We will also look at the overall quality of school leadership, links to the local community and role of the school and staff within the region. Please note that a decision on whether to subsidise schools will be at the discretion of Apps for Good based on these criteria.
Q: Are there any other financial implications for the school?
A: For subsidised Certified Partners there is no cost to attend the train the trainer courses and schools receive a certain number of free Android-based Dell mobile devices for the course. For non-subsidised Certified Partners and Affiliate Partners, Apps for Good will not provide any mobile devices but the training is free.
Additionally, there are the indirect costs of staff and facilities that the school will be expected to bear. A prerequisite of the course is that the school commits at least 1 person to serve as the educator to deliver the course and 1 person of sufficient seniority within the school to serve as a contact point for Apps for Good on the senior leadership team and to ensure the course smoothly fits into the wider school processes and policies.
Q: What about our school’s mobile phone/smartphone policy? Do we need to change that?
A: If your school plans to run the course, you should consider how the students’ use of smartphones will fit into your existing IT/Mobile phone use policies. Some schools have achieved this by specifying that, as an extra-curricular activity, Apps for Good will fall outside school-day bans, but this needs to be managed by each school. We would also recommend formalising agreed usage guidelines with students as a prerequisite to their joining the course. There are examples and case studies available to assist schools with this.
Q: What policies or procedures are in place regarding child protection and safeguarding?
Apps for Good takes child protection and safeguarding very seriously. All Apps for Good staff have CRB clearance and our Safeguarding policy is available upon request.
Q: Who will own the apps developed during the course?
A: All students of the course will own the apps, ideas and code they have created in teams. In order to continue building the course going forward, all students will be asked to make their course work and App Inventor work available under a creative commons licence to future generations of students, so that they can learn from it. Participants grant CDI Europe and Apps for Good the right to use their apps as examples and inspirations when teaching the course and communicating about it. If an app is chosen during our regional or national competitions to be developed with the help of a professional developer, students will retain at least part-ownership of the app, and might be asked to agree on a revenue share agreement with CDI Europe, the school running the course and/or the developer, if the app is being commercialised. This will depend on the app and the investment needed. From February 2012 we will publish a standard contract for post-competition investment, but the guiding principle is that the intellectual property rights rest with the student team that designed the app.
Q: Does the course positively impact students’ career choices?
A: Based on the feedback so far, 10-15% of our alumni are interested in becoming professional programmers, while more than two thirds expect to continue working, or exploring careers in the broader field of technology & software innovation (through design, project management or marketing).