Two trends are occurring as we speak. First, the smartphone has become the new PC. Secondly, programming computers is becoming child’s play literally. Case in point look at the two image belows, similar, yes?
On the top you have Scratch, a program from MIT used to get kid’s excited about programming through Lego block-esque “click and drag” tiles of programming basics (i.e. an “if-then block” or a “do-while block” that are assembled together to make animations, games, and graphics. On the bottom, another program (actually derived from Scratch) from Google called App Inventor. This software that allows you to create programs for the Android mobile O/S employing the same “Lego brick” approach to building software. Also, while Scratch is software you download and install, Android’s App Inventor is partially web-based, relying on a Java app to create the programming backend, but a simple website to do the UI design. It’s pretty amazing stuff. And the neat thing with App Inventor, once your code is written, Google generates a 2D barcode which you simply point your Android phone at (with say Google Goggles) and snap a picture that started the download of the software to your phone. Also, you can pull the .APK file off your phone and throw it up on your website and start sharing with the world! More to follow…
