Annabel Woodworth - Android Apps

Next, we got to make apps using MIT App Inventor. MIT App Inventor is a free coding app that you can you to make apps that only can work on Android devices. (Android Apps) We made Multi-Apps with 4 beginner apps in them. That way we'd be ready to code our own apps using MIT. The four beginner apps are Hello Codi, Talk to me, Ball Bounce, and Digital Doodle.

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Hello Codi 🌧️

Hello Codi is the first of our beginner apps. We had to code it to where you would click on an image, and it would play a sound relating to the image. We started out using a beginner tutorial and image of a bee, but we eventually all changed it to our own image preference. I used an image of a rain cloud, and the sound of a thunderstorm. You upload the image and the audio file so that MIT App Inventor has it.

Before we got to the fun stuff, we had just code basic functions. Basically, a way to get from one screen to the other. You have to make a button. Just drag it from the components panel, rename it and then you have a button. 👍

THen to really make it Hello Codi, We used a basic image of a bee and a bee sound. You go into blocks, which is the coding part of MIT App Inventor, and make it so when the user clicks on the bee, it buzzes. It would say COdi Image on the block but I went back in my spare time and changed it so it sounds like a thunderstorm.

This is the block you use so that when you click a button to return to the menu, it closes the screen you're on so you back at the first screen.

These are the blocks I used to make Hello Codi.

Talk To Me 💬

this is our second app in our app. Talk to me is basically a way of doing text to speech. There are two different versions (The easy one and the more advanced one).

First things first, we need ANOTHER button. (You'll make a lot!) On the button, you make it say talk to me by using the text box in the properties panel. Then you code it so when the user taps the button it will talk and say a message. So first, you go and drag a block from the button section of the "Talk to me" button, then you drag the text to speech component, and place it in the block for the button. then you get a text box from the text area, and enter your message. Mine says, "Slow down!"

This is the panel with all the coding blocks in it. this is where you get text boxes, colors, variables, and many other helpful blocks.

This is the coding that you use for the easy version of Talk To Me.

Part 2 - The Advanced Version of Talk To Me 💬

The advanced part of T.T.M. is where you let the user of your app type in a text box, and when they hit the button, it speaks their message. You change your coding a bit for this. You have to put a text box on the design screen, right above the button. (Pictured below) Then you stil use the "text to speech" component, you just change out the message for the text box.

Then, you use a really cool part. you drag an accelerometer on the screen. It's not actually visible though, so it appears under NOn-Visible components. then you go into the coding part, the blocks editor, and make it so when you shake your device, the app will say something.

YOu drag it out, use the text to speech, get a text box, and write your message. Mine says "Slow down!" when you shake it.

Ball Bounce 🟠

Ball bounce is where you fling a circle, and it bounces around the screen. IT's a ball that bounces, hence the name. so you go to the components panel, and drag out a ball. It will be under drawing and animation. then, in blocks editor, you use the ball and say that when it's flung, it get speed. But you may have noticed, when it's flung a reaches the edge, it doesn't bounce. You need other blocks for that. Using the "Ball1 Edge Reached" block, you can tell it to bounce off the edge when it hits it.

Digital Doodle ✏️

Digital Doodle is the 3rd app we made. It's we you can simply draw. One color, black, and and slider for size. No colors or coloring sheets. So first, you drag a canvas out from the components, then a slider for line size. Then in blocks, you make it so when you drag on the canvas, it draws a line. instead of just drawing a line, I have it so it draws circles. It make your lines smoother, instead of sharp, square lines. and depending on the slider's position, your line will be bigger or smaller.

This is what I drew in Digital Doodle.

I made a button where you click it and it wipes the screen. The "Wipe" button blocks just tell the canvas to clear. There are notifiers though. Notifiers double check that you want something, that way you don't do anything to your hard work. So you drag out a notifier,