MIT Expert Trainer
in Educational Mobile Computing Program
(formerly known as Master Trainers Program)

2023 MIT Expert Trainer in Educational Mobile Computing Virtual Online Course Information

Course Summary

MIT will offer an Expert Trainers Program to certify K-12 educators and other professionals in mobile computing education using the MIT App Inventor platform. This professional development program will continue to grow a global community of experts on mobile app development who are available to guide others through the exploration of creating mobile apps that matter. These experts will lead workshops in classrooms, communities, and afterschool programs to empower teachers and students as they become mobile app designers, thus providing a pathway into computer science, software development, and other disciplines relevant in today's digital world.

Benefits

MIT App Inventor Certified Expert Trainers join an elite body of experts able to promote computer science education, conduct MIT App Inventor trainings to groups of educators and/or students and serve as a resource for educators and teachers who seek to infuse mobile computing education into their organizations, programs, and classrooms. Participants will receive an official MIT App Inventor Certificate of Completion after successfully finishing the three-day virtual workshop. Their names will be added as Certified Expert Trainers to the MIT App Inventor website.

Logistics:

Registration: Closed

Cost: $2,750

Course Start Date: March 1, 2023

Maximum capacity: 20 people

Format: Virtual online

Program Prerequisites: Strong familiarity with MIT App Inventor -ideally, for at least one year in an educational K-12 setting. Note that this is not a course for beginners.

Laptops and Android mobile devices are required for this program.

The Expert Trainer Certificate candidates must:

1. Become intimately familiar with and complete 15 tutorials (at least three tutorials in each category) (to be completed by May 1st).
   • Hour of Code
   • CoolThink/Computational Thinking Curriculum
   • YR Media: Youth Mobile Power Series
   • Artificial Intelligence with App Inventor
   • Miscellaneous
2. Complete the given readings, view the videos, and write weekly journal entries. (To be completed by May 1st)
3. Submit a final project: Develop an MIT App Inventor app (original or extension of an existing project) and create a tutorial for it (to be completed by June 16th).
4. Attend the three-day virtual capstone workshop which will include presentations of participants' final projects (Dates: EST July 26-28, 2023, TO BE CONFIRMED)
5. Be a judge in the virtual global Appathon 2023 in July. (TO BE CONFIRMED)

Additional details will be provided upon acceptance into the program.

Questions?

• Watch our Expert Trainer Krishnendu Roy talk about the program:
• Or email questions here: appinv_experttrainer_admin@mit.edu

COVID-19 Update: MIT App Inventor fully expects to be able to run the MIT App Inventor Expert Trainer's virtual online course over this spring and summer of 2023. In the unlikely event of our team having to cancel the course due to unforeseen pandemic-related issues, MIT App Inventor will strive to announce the cancellation at least two weeks prior to July 26th and process a refund at that time.

Background

MIT has been a leader in computing as an educational activity for K-12 students since the 1960’s. That leadership began with the seminal work of Seymour Papert, whose work today is more influential than ever. The same research is assuming a major role in the emerging world of mobile computing, through MIT App Inventor, a top 40 most popular EdTech offering on the web today, according to LearnPlatform. App Inventor is a free, blocks-based visual programming language that enables everyone, even those with no prior coding experience, to create mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Currently, 15 million MIT App Inventor users from 195 countries have created over 67 million mobile apps with the easy-to-use web platform. Beyond teaching people to code and providing an on-ramp to computer science, MIT App Inventor users also learn a wealth of skills including: computational thinking, engineering design, and entrepreneurship.

Learning Objectives

Expert Trainers will develop expertise in the following areas:

• The App Inventor Mission and Mobile Computing Education
• App Inventor Technical Set-up, Platform Navigation, Software Development & Trouble-Shooting
• Computer Science Principles, Design Thinking, Computational Thinking, Computational Action
• Pedagogy for Mobile App Development
• Accessing resources, such as tutorials, forums, contests, and camps
• Entrepreneurship opportunities (in app development and in professional training)

Who Should Attend

• Teachers who have used Scratch and/or App Inventor in their classroom and want to expand upon their current level of engagement
• Teachers seeking to integrate technology in their classroom (for CS or non-CS classes)
• Graduate students or recent graduates who have a computer science background and are interested in teaching or EdTech
• Former classroom teachers pursuing educational opportunities beyond the classroom
• Club leaders who would like to infuse technology education into their after-school programs
• Professors who want to teach mobile-app-creation in the college setting
• Post-docs looking to supplement their knowledge for research projects

An ideal participant is someone with:

• An aptitude or excitement for coding or computer science
• Teaching experience and some knowledge of project-based-learning pedagogy
• A passion for EdTech, computer science, and problem-solving
• An interest in mobile computing education