Genius Hour Reflection Activity
Summarize the purpose of your Genius Hour project in 140 characters.
The purpose of my Genius Hour project was to create an app for my school to make communication between the school and it’s students easier.
Explain the process of your Genius Hour project. Be reflective. Be contemplative. Explain and describe your journey. (No Less Than Three FULL Paragraphs.)
When I started out on this adventure of creating an app for the school, I was optimistic about the process of creating an app. I figured that since there were all these low quality games and apps in the stores today that anyone would be able to do it. When searching for programs to create the app I quickly learned that it was not going to be that easy. I wound up spending a few weeks on a program that I thought created the app, but only was to help me visualize what I wanted the app to look like.
I then sent out to find an actual program to make the app. I searched far though google trying different search criteria and even going to the second page of the search results. I eventually found a website that taught me how to program in a mobile programming language. I spent most of the time learning and taking the online classes to learn how to make an app. After some time i knew i needed to actually get planning and working on the app. So I went searching once again for a program.
In the end I did find a program in which would help make the app and make it easy. Unfortunately it was a paid subscription service and all i had was a free trial account. I was able to do a little creating of the app but in the end I was not able to get anything really done. In the end i realized that most of the year was spent either learning programming or using the program.
The intention For Genius Hour is NOT only to learn, but ALSO to share your knowledge with others who can and will benefit from your learning. How did you share your learning? What do you hope the result might be? (No Less Than Two Full Paragraphs.)
I have talked about it to people I know, especially the ones who take computer programming classes. As well as verbally telling people I will be adding a post on my webpage talking about what I have learned, the difficulties I faced, and what advice I can give to others wanting to do the same thing.
With the knowledge I have learned, I hope people who are serious about creating an application should do plenty of research and studying to make their experience easier. Learning a new programming language can be tough, especially if you want to make the app for iOS and Android since they both are different programming languages.
If you could do anything different with your Genius Hour project what would you do differently and why? (No less than two full paragraphs.)
If I could have done something different it probably would be to take more time in this project. I had not realized how difficult it would be to actually make a mobile application. The amount of days that we had in class Genius Hour work time is less than the amount of time it would take to learn the programming language needed to write the program. I figured that since I knew c++ there would be a way to code an app in it, but there is not a way to make an app through c++, at least not alone.
I would also have gotten a partner. This was a large task to try and take on by myself. With someone else's help the process could have gone faster and better. I also would have not spent as much time on the mockup of the project and looking for a computer program to do the app making on. Most of the easy app makers are a monthly subscription or have to buy. The ones that are generally free require you to know the programming language before hand.
Reflect on what you did well during this Genius Hour process? Note your successes and accomplishments. (No less than two full paragraphs.)
To be completely honest the only thing I did well in the process was learning how hard app making actually is. I learned that people put a lot of time and money into their apps and i have great respect for the people who manage app, especially one of online services such as banks and social media. I can not believe how difficult It would be to create something like those apps.
The purpose of my Genius Hour project was to create an app for my school to make communication between the school and it’s students easier.
Explain the process of your Genius Hour project. Be reflective. Be contemplative. Explain and describe your journey. (No Less Than Three FULL Paragraphs.)
When I started out on this adventure of creating an app for the school, I was optimistic about the process of creating an app. I figured that since there were all these low quality games and apps in the stores today that anyone would be able to do it. When searching for programs to create the app I quickly learned that it was not going to be that easy. I wound up spending a few weeks on a program that I thought created the app, but only was to help me visualize what I wanted the app to look like.
I then sent out to find an actual program to make the app. I searched far though google trying different search criteria and even going to the second page of the search results. I eventually found a website that taught me how to program in a mobile programming language. I spent most of the time learning and taking the online classes to learn how to make an app. After some time i knew i needed to actually get planning and working on the app. So I went searching once again for a program.
In the end I did find a program in which would help make the app and make it easy. Unfortunately it was a paid subscription service and all i had was a free trial account. I was able to do a little creating of the app but in the end I was not able to get anything really done. In the end i realized that most of the year was spent either learning programming or using the program.
The intention For Genius Hour is NOT only to learn, but ALSO to share your knowledge with others who can and will benefit from your learning. How did you share your learning? What do you hope the result might be? (No Less Than Two Full Paragraphs.)
I have talked about it to people I know, especially the ones who take computer programming classes. As well as verbally telling people I will be adding a post on my webpage talking about what I have learned, the difficulties I faced, and what advice I can give to others wanting to do the same thing.
With the knowledge I have learned, I hope people who are serious about creating an application should do plenty of research and studying to make their experience easier. Learning a new programming language can be tough, especially if you want to make the app for iOS and Android since they both are different programming languages.
If you could do anything different with your Genius Hour project what would you do differently and why? (No less than two full paragraphs.)
If I could have done something different it probably would be to take more time in this project. I had not realized how difficult it would be to actually make a mobile application. The amount of days that we had in class Genius Hour work time is less than the amount of time it would take to learn the programming language needed to write the program. I figured that since I knew c++ there would be a way to code an app in it, but there is not a way to make an app through c++, at least not alone.
I would also have gotten a partner. This was a large task to try and take on by myself. With someone else's help the process could have gone faster and better. I also would have not spent as much time on the mockup of the project and looking for a computer program to do the app making on. Most of the easy app makers are a monthly subscription or have to buy. The ones that are generally free require you to know the programming language before hand.
Reflect on what you did well during this Genius Hour process? Note your successes and accomplishments. (No less than two full paragraphs.)
To be completely honest the only thing I did well in the process was learning how hard app making actually is. I learned that people put a lot of time and money into their apps and i have great respect for the people who manage app, especially one of online services such as banks and social media. I can not believe how difficult It would be to create something like those apps.