Mobile phone apps in CS0 using App Inventor for Android: pre-conference workshop

App Inventor for Android (AIA) is a new visual programming environment developed by Google to enable nonprogrammers to create simple mobile phone applications on Android phones. AIA programs are constructed by dragging and dropping components into an interface designer, and then describing the behavior of the components in a Scratch-like block-based programming environment. Programs are developed on a computer, and then downloaded and tested on a phone. In a Fall 2009 pilot program, AIA was used in introductory courses at eleven colleges and universities and at a high school. This workshop is targeted at faculty teaching introductory computer science courses in college or high school. We will lead hands-on activities in which participants will create applications and test them on phones that we will provide. We will also describe our experiences with using it in our courses, demonstrate applications created by students, and discuss relevant teaching techniques and practical issues.