Become an App Inventor: The Official Guide from MIT App Inventor: Your Guide to Designing, Building, and Sharing Apps

by Karen Lang, Mit App Inventor Project, Mit Computer Science and Artificial Inte

With a foreword by Gitanjali Rao, Time Magazine’s inaugural Kid of the Year, this engaging guide from MITeen Press teaches anyone to design and publish their own apps—no experience necessary!—and introduces young app creators from around the world.

Have you ever wanted to build your own mobile apps? App Inventor, a free and revolutionary online program from MIT, lets you do just that. With the help of this companion guide chock-full of colorful graphics and easy-to-follow instructions, readers can learn how to create six different apps, including a working piano, a maze game, and even their own chat app to communicate with friends—then use what they’ve learned to build apps of their own imagination. User-friendly code blocks that snap together allow even beginners to quickly create working apps. Readers will also learn about young inventors already using their own apps to make a difference in their communities, such as the girls from Moldova whose app helps alert residents when local well water is contaminated. Or the boys from Malden, Massachusetts, whose app lets users geotag potholes to alert city hall when repairs are needed. With this inspiring guide, curious young dreamers can become real inventors with real-world impact.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 8, 2022

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book consists of 6 quick and easy-to-build projects that can be created on MIT’s App Inventor website, appinventor.mit.edu The culmination of the 6 simple apps touch many of the features that the app inventor is capable of, from translating languages, creating music, utilizing a device’s accelerometer for games or the location sensor to determine where your device is on a map, and text communication via the cloud.

There is a lot of ground covered in a small book with few pages (223). The material was presented succinctly with no more than one, maybe two paragraphs per page, along with full-color illustrations.

I was fortunate enough to get the chance of enrolling in a structured course to guide me in learning how to exploit the MIT App Inventor capabilities with the additional benefit of being instructed by one of the authors. (The instructors were hospitable while remaining patient with bringing my tiny inexperienced brain up to speed.)


The book is perfect for what it was intended for, as an introduction for anyone (mainly children) on how to use MIT App Inventor. After 10 lessons and creating my own elementary app, I am proud to say that I might have the app-building ability of the average 9-year-old. Ofc, not everyone is going to have the luxury of an experienced instructor, but there are numerous Youtube tutorials and the book on its own is still suitable enough for an app novice autodidact to become proficient at creating apps using the app inventor.

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m more of an old school person. I grew up in the age of websites when everyone was starting their own. Now everyone wants their own app and what better way for children to learn than with an easy to understand and comprehensive book.

It is split into lots of sections and the information is really easy to follow with the guides and images for reference, starting with the very basic of opening and logging into an email account.

This is a book that those who have always wanted to have their own app will love.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book showing us how to become an App inventor, with fantastic pictures throughout out taking us step by step. The thing that made this book so special for mr is that it’s so easy to follow what Kay Lang and Selim Tezel has created in this official easy guide. This is everyone’s Bible of your guide to designing, building and sharing Apps. I highly recommend it as no experience is necessary to invent your own app with the easy know how. On my website I have some pictures from the book with easy diagrams to follow.
My review is on my website www.bookread2day.wordpress.com

[Becs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no issue admitting that I am not a tech-wizard but I did have some shame realising that this book has a foreword from Gitanjali Rao, a teenage scientist and inventor who definitely is a tech-wizard and makes me look much more of a Bilbo than a Gandalf when it comes to wizardry.

This is essentially a step-by-step guide for novices to help you learn how to create apps. It has a lot of other innovative teaching within, in truth, but that's the crux of it. With this guide you can learn to create, design, build and share apps and use them for whatever purpose you feel is useful. For example, at the end there is a story about how apps like these have been used to help children set alarms with games (something which is a bit of a fad at the moment) or tasks which they have to complete in the morning when their alarm sounds. In order to stop the alarm they have to complete the challenges. These apps have also been used to help people take their medications correctly, for example.

I really like how accessible this is, how bright the pages are and how easy to follow it was. I feel like I am far more wizardly now as a result! (Not sure that wizardly is genuinely a real word though, perhaps there is an app for spelling too?).

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Kim Childress · Rating 5 out of 5]

For kids interested in media and technology, this book teaches digital, technical, entrepreneurial, and even life skills that can be used daily. A must-get-gift for teachers, this new addition to the classroom has young technology pioneers featured that will inspire both kids and adults. “With a foreword by Gitanjali Rao, Time Magazine’s inaugural Kid of the Year, this engaging guide teaches anyone to design and publish their own apps—no experience necessary! It also introduces young app creators from around the world.”

Genre/BISAC: Juvenile, Young Adult, Adult-Interest Nonfiction, App Creation, Computers, Technology, Computer Science and Programming, Video Games, Programming, Computer Games

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

With step by step directions, this book helps readers create 6 different apps of increasing complexity. Those who are familiar with Scratch will feel an instant affinity for what is required but even those with not much tech/coding capability will be able to follow along. There are supports for Apple and Android users as well as how to do the work even if you do not have a mobile device of your own. Text boxes give reminders of potential issues. Each app also has additional challenges for increased utility and difficulty. Interspersed throughout are highlights of teen innovators and what apps they have created.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

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