Q&A with Karen Lang and Selim Tezel all about Become an App Inventor

What inspired you to write this book?

Karen:

The inspiration for the book started with the Coolthink @JC project that the MIT App Inventor team was a part of over the past four years. We helped develop a three-year computational thinking curriculum with our partners in Hong Kong. Taking that curriculum, we reworked parts of it to reach a US middle school audience. After developing materials for teachers to use in a school setting, we thought we could take the projects from the curriculum and reformat them into a book that could appeal to middle schoolers in different settings. 

Selim: 

We decided to include human stories dispersed throughout the book as we felt it was important for our readers to know about and learn directly from young programmers all over the world who came before them – to be inspired by their examples. We find their stories of how and why they came up with app ideas and how they overcame the challenges they faced absolutely fascinating.

What was the process behind the book? Did it require a lot of research? Did you learn anything new along the way?

Selim:

The book is the result of more than four years of creative work on several projects like the CoolThink project with Hong Kong and the Youth Mobile Power project with YR Media. By the time it came to writing the book, most of the research, editing and field testing, etc. had alreadybeen  done. One of the things I personally learned during this process is the importance of having the touch of gifted graphic designers and visual artists in the creation of a children’s book. The knowledge content of a book is obviously very important but the artists help bridge the gap between authors’ knowledge and readers’ psyche.

Karen:

The book, as Selim mentions, is a culmination of several years of work by the MIT App Inventor education team. However, taking the materials from a teacher/student guide and tutorial perspective to a book format took several months of effort. For me, rewriting some of the materials in a more narrative form took time and thought. Also, having an editor from Candlewick Press provided a fresh set of eyes on our work. Something I might have taken for granted as being understood by a student in a computer science class was not necessarily so. Stepping back to explain things in different ways than the short set of steps in a guide or tutorial was an interesting and fun process. Having the editorial feedback was really helpful to aligning with our target audience. I learned a lot about the editorial process and the different stages: taking our student guides to a manuscript, and then to a complete illustrated book. There were many hands and iterations in the final editing to make sure all the punctuation, alignment, and arrows were correct! I also agree with Selim that the graphic designers on our project took the content to a whole new level and really made the book shine. 

What advice would you give to teenagers who are interested in pursuing a computer science career?

Karen:

My advice to teenagers who are interested in computer science or even in problem-solving is to take opportunities you see to learn what you can. There are so many options – books, online courses, classes in school, extracurricular programmes – where you can learn more about solving problems and coding. Many people who have successful careers in computer science talk about how they tinkered and played with different tools, computers and toys as young people. Don’t be afraid to try something new, and don’t be afraid to fail. Computer science and coding take a lot of patience and persistence and you have to be OK with something not working. Most of the fun of coding is figuring out your errors and finally getting your code to work. It’s a very satisfying feeling. 

Selim: 

I got hooked on programming when I tried and (somehow) succeeded in computationally solving the famous 8 Queens problem that gave even the great mathematician Gauss a pause. I recommend working on hard problems so you can truly see the power of computing. Learning to program is nothing short of acquiring a super power. Studying computer science (CS) helps build excellent thinking skills and induces a wonderful clarity of mind. CS is one of those fields that actually make you smarter and smarter each and every day. Unlike other fields where you may not get feedback for your work right away and not really know if you are on the right path, interacting with computers as a computer scientist provides you with a constant and immediate stream of feedback and allows you to make rapid progress in your work. With mind-boggling discoveries just around the corner in fields such as Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing, I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that a new type of Renaissance is on its way to impact humanity in unimagined ways. It is an amazingly exciting time to be alive and be part of this unfolding historical event.

What are the three favourite things about your job?

Selim:

(a) Creating something meaningful and uplifting for youngsters at a time of vast global challenges (pandemic, war, climate change etc.).

(b) Being at a world-class institution like MIT and meeting and learning from amazing people from all walks of life as part of my job – from dedicated K12/college educators to ingenious students to visionary computer scientists.

(c) Having the privilege of working with and collaborating with brilliant and caring educators like my co-author Karen Lang and the rest of the App Inventor team.

Karen:

I have actually moved on from the App Inventor team and now work for Technovation, where teams of girls work to solve a problem in their community by creating a mobile app or AI invention. The mission of Technovation is to empower girls to become leaders, creators and problem-solvers. Technovation's mission is directly aligned with that of MIT App Inventor, so I feel I am just continuing the good work in my new role. So, my favourite thing about my job is doing something that really has an impact on young lives. Empowering young people to become change-makers is so rewarding. Second would be seeing what great ideas young people come up with and what they are able to achieve. From the amazing kids in our book to the girls in Technovation, it is astounding to see not only their innovative ideas, but their ability to act on their ideas and learn to build it. It gives me hope for the future. Third would be working with smart and dedicated people who are passionate about empowering young people. I am inspired by my colleagues every day.

Discover Become an App Inventor by Karen Lang and Selim Tezel, published by Walker Books...