No sensor left behind: enriching computing education with mobile devices

The use of mobile app development in pre-college computing education is rapidly gaining momentum due to the increasingly widespread use of mobile devices. To fully realize the learning potential of this technology in the classroom, however, one may need to re-examine traditional curricular approaches originating from desktop computing environments. In this work, we describe our experience with a new high-school computing camp designed from the ground up to engage students by taking full advantage of the specific benefits of mobile devices, such as built-in cameras, GPS, networking, and sensors measuring touch, sound, acceleration, and orientation. We describe the design of our camp including materials and examples used. We assess the effectiveness of this instructional approach by demonstrating a statistically significant increase in interest in future computing endeavors. We also comment on the use of MIT App Inventor to ease the transition, particularly for novice programmers, to more sophisticated Java-based apps.