Teaching mobile app software development is a challenge! (abstract only)

Teaching a mobile device software development course is very different from teaching a CS1, CS2, or advanced programming class. In a traditional software development class the target computer (on which the software being developed is to run) is a laptop or desktop computer. In a mobile device software development course, the target computer is a smartphone or tablet that has a large number of features (web access, a camera, GPS, a gyroscope, media display, etc.) that can be controlled by software. The material that must be covered in such as course is so broad that new approaches to delivering course content must be used. This poster describes the overall method by which we have taught such a course. We describe four challenges: (1) The content is new and constantly changing. (2) The material to be covered is very broad and includes diverse components. (3) The course requires that the students understand databases design and implementation, topics often taken in the final year of the curriculum and too late for this course. (4) Finally, finding meaningful course projects is difficult and we benefit greatly from a program such as Clemson's Creative Inquiry Undergraduate Research Program. We explain how we address each of these challenges and describe the structure of the course in detail. We conclude with the results we have produced over the past five years, evaluation by students, and successes students have achieved. We also demonstrate both iOS and Android apps that have been developed through this course.