Using App Lab on iPads

CS Principles
1

Some of my students don’t have access to laptops/desktops outside of school. They all have iPads. Students have reported that they aren’t able to work in app lab using the iPads. Has anyone found a work-around for this issue or advice I can offer them so they can still work on their Create Task during our distance learning time.

2

@sstratmancsm - Unfortunately not that I know of. From the Technical Requirements page:

All CS Principles and CS Discoveries courses are not compatible with tablets or mobile devices. A full keyboard and mouse (or touchpad, like on Macbooks) on a normal desktop or laptop computer are required for these courses. Chromebooks are also compatible. iPads or other tablets are not compatible with CS Principles, CS Discoveries, or any Web Lab / App Lab / Game Lab environments.

3

Apple has their own learn to code environment called Swift Playgrounds. It is supposed to be available in the App store.

To use it students would need to start their Create Task over and learn a new language. The biggest conceptual change in Swift is static typing.

Also Scratch recently got a big update to run on any browser even tablets. That means it should run on an iPad. I cannot try it because I am 100% Google here.

However, Scratch is also a very different language than App Lab’s Javascript. Your kids will need to learn a new language and start the Create Task over. The biggest conceptual change will be concurrency built into the language, it creates bugs more than you might think.

4

I´m teaching to my students the AppLab on iPad. I just asked to them to find a bluetooth mouse. They need iOS 13.5 or later. It works perfectly but the mouse is necessary.

1 Like
5

That is correct @cuatepotzo! A recent update to iOS has made it easier to use external pointers, which means students can access App Lab on newer iPads with a bluetooth mouse and an external keyboard.

6

Is this still the case as far as you are aware?

7

As far as I can tell, yes. From the IT Requirements page:

Mobile and Tablet Support Details

All CS Discoveries, CS Principles, CS A, and Intro to App Lab courses are not compatible with tablets or mobile devices - a full keyboard and mouse (or touchpad) are required. Most tablets are not supported, with the following exceptions:

  • Microsoft Surface Pro with an external keyboard
  • iPad running iPadOS 13.4 or later with an external keyboard and an external mouse or touchpad

All other content, such as K-5 courses (Computer Science Fundamentals) and Hour of Code activities are compatible on iPads and other modern tablets and laptop or desktop computers.

2 Likes
8

Thank you very much for your reply!