10 Steps To Hosting An App Design & Prototype Camp

10 Steps To Hosting An App Design & Prototype Camp

Saturday, June 28, 2025 2:00 PM to 2:50 PM · 50 min. (America/Chicago)
Turbo Talk
Computer Science and Computational Thinking

Information

Organize summer camps or after-school clubs focused on app design and prototyping to build student interest in coding. Learn about the process, free app-design resources, creating code-free Keynote prototypes to solve community problems, and building community connections by recruiting a showcase panel of computer science role models.
Outline
Participants will learn how a large urban school district followed 10 steps to organize and deliver a virtual summer coding camp focused on app design and prototyping to build student interest in coding. We will share our story of how we explored and built app prototypes to solve community problems in the midst of distance learning and community protests and have refined our camp and app prototype showcase over three years. In addition, strategies for building connections with community businesses and computer science experts will be shared. Session Outline: I. Word Cloud Poll through Poll Everywhere or Mentimeter - What are some challenges in the communities where you live that you think an app could help with? - 3 minutes II. Creating A Prototype Step-by-Step - App Design Journal - 5 minutes (Participants create sketches of app screens with app of choice and share on social media) A.UI vs UX B. Accessibility III. App Icons - Design, Color, and Purpose - 5 minutes (Participants create sketch of app icon and share on social media) IV. App Pitch - How To Stand Out - 2 minutes (Participants submit app slogan to Poll Everywhere) V. Recruiting Showcase Judges - Computer Science Experts, App Develops, and Community Connections - 5 minutes VI. Showcase Event - Key Takeaways - 5 minutes VII. Questions - 5 minutes * Student examples shared throughout *Participants can create the start of a prototype during session and share out screenshots or short video on social media.
Supporting research
Apple Everyone Can Code Curriculum Apple K-12 Teaching Code - https://www.apple.com/education/k12/teaching-code/ App Design Journal - https://education-static.apple.com/coding-club-kit/appjournal.key Code.org Why Computer Science - https://code.org/promote Howard, N. and Howard, K., ISTE, 2020. Coding +Math: Strengthen K-5 Math Skills With Computer Science. Randles, ISTE, 2018. 4 ways to make CS for all a reality - https://www.iste.org/explore/Computer-Science/4-ways-to-make-CS-for-all-a-reality Silva, ISTE, 2019. Make Hour of Code a lifelong passion with these free resources - https://www.iste.org/explore/computer-science/make-hour-code-lifelong-passion-these-free-resources Swift Coding Club - https://www.apple.com/education/docs/swift-club-playgrounds.pdf Valenzuela, ISTE, 2019. Lessons to keep Hour of Code going year-round - https://www.iste.org/explore/computer-science/lessons-keep-hour-code-going-year-round Valenzuela, ISTE, 2019. Profile of a technologically literate graduate - https://www.iste.org/explore/Computer-Science/Profile-of-a-technologically-literate-graduate Valenzuela, ISTE, 2020. Rev Up Robotics: Real-World Computational Thinking in the K-8 Classroom Williams, ISTE, 201. No Fear Coding: Computational Thinking Across the K-5 Curriculum
Attendee Accounts
Presentation software - Keynote, PowerPoint, or Google Slides - Optional Sketching app of choice - Optional All software and apps will be listed on this blog site - http://playlearnteach.blogspot.com/
Content Community
ISTELive
Subject Area
Computer Science
Grade Level
6-12
Audience
TeacherTechnology Coach/Trainer
Session Delivery
Virtual
Sample Schedule
Computer Science
Transformative Learning Principles
Ignite AgencyPrioritize authentic experiences
ISTE Standards
Students: Computational Thinker: Break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.Students: Creative Communicator: Use digital tools to visually communicate complex ideas to others.Students: Innovative Designer: Develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
Skill Level
Beginner
Registration Required
No
Attendee Devices
Devices useful
Attendee Device Specification
Laptop: MacSmartphone: iOSTablet: iOS
Spotlight on Solutions
No
Additional Fee
No

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