This is the project that is supposed to be done as partners, where they are writing an app to educate their peers. The idea is beautiful but I don’t see how they are to work on the app together. How does student A get the screens created by student B? I was thinking that setting up paired programming would allow them to work together but there must be more to it – I didn’t teach CSP last year so my last time was in the 2018 curriculum and I don’t recall how things worked when they had to design together. How do they keep the app current across a group of 3 (because my class of 9 decided they wanted to work as trios instead of 3 pairs and a trio – I’d have had to solve the trio problem anyway!)
Hello,
When they are working in the screen design level, they are able to import one another’s’ screens. To do this:
The designer is going to have the sharer click “Share” in the top left corner, and then email that link to their partner. The partner will then go to their screens drop down menu (where they create a new screen) and click “import screen” where they can paste the link. This will trigger App Lab to try to pull the screens and assets from the other student’s project.
Two things to keep in mind: First, these screens do not auto update! If student A makes a change after student B has uploaded, student B will not see the changes on their end without importing the screens again. Second, if students have the same ID for some items as their partner, they will not be able to import the partner’s code - there will be a conflict and an error. This is a good time to stress smart naming conventions so students don’t run in to this issue.
When I have students design screens, I usually have them draw out their plan together, and then pair program (share a zoom window) to create a single screen with the colors, fonts, etc that they want to both use. They import the screen in to all group members’ pages, and use this as a template for the remainder of the screens so the theme is consistent. After that I don’t bother having them share screens again until they have all completed their portions to avoid the issue of updating. Inevitably a group or two has to… but it avoids a lot of logistical hassle.
When students get to programming, I will have them keep a shared google doc that they paste code (copied from App Lab in the top mode) that they both update at the end of the class. As long as they’re communicating and compartmentalizing who is doing what, they don’t have problems copying their partners code in to their work as well. Again it’s important to have good naming conventions and good communication between group members to make sure they’re accounting for all aspects of the project.
Good luck!
Thanks! So reading this, you have partner and sharer ‘roles.’ Sharer has a finished screen or set of screens to send to partner, and they get a link from the share button, which they send to their partner. If the sharer has 3 screens to send, do they have to send 3 links or will one link allow the partner access to all screens the sharer has made?
I can see where naming conventions will be key (esp with 3 on same project) – much moreso than when someone is working alone!
They only share one link. You are right that naming conventions will be key. It will not import if the screen names are the same or if element IDs of other screen elements have the same names.