Warm Up (5 - 10 min)

What's an app?

Discuss: Ask students if they have ever played a game on a smartphone. If you have a smartphone of your own, show a few examples, or show screenshots of smartphone games on the web.

Discuss: Ask students what else they can do on a smartphone.

Examples to add to students' responses. Provide screenshots or live examples if available:

• search the web for information
• do math with a calculator
• talk to friends and family
• listen to music
• watch videos
• get directions using a map

Say:

• You might notice that many of the things you can do on a smartphone you can also do on a computer. This is because smartphones are actually computers, just smaller than those we use in computer science class.
• Smartphone programs are usually called "apps". Apps allow us to do all the things we just mentioned, along with many others.
• Smartphones are small and easy to take with us wherever we go, making it convenient to do things that would be difficult otherwise.

Discuss: Ask students if they have ever gotten frustrated while using an app. For example, have they ever played a game that was too hard, or the buttons didn't work, or other problems prevented them from having fun? Have they ever tried going to a website and couldn't because it was too hard to figure out how? Allow students to present an anecdote or two of their own about apps that caused them problems.

• Apps are made for people to use, just as food is made for people to eat.
• So, just like cooking, it’s important to know what people want when making an app.
• An app that is made with no one in mind is probably going to have lots of problems!

Remark that there are many questions we can ask when suggesting or making an app for someone. Ideally, we want to ask questions that can help us "walk in a user's shoes":

• What do they want to do?
• What do they like?
• What is their personality?
• What kind of computer do they have?

Transition: Tell students that there are a few code.org friends who are struggling to find the apps that are "just right" for them. Ask if they are ready to put their expert skills to use and help their friends.

Activity (35 min)

"The Right App" Scenarios (15 min)

Display: Display each scenario from The Right App Scenarios - Slide Deck. While displaying a scenario image, read its accompanying script to the class (see below, or the notes beneath each slide in the deck). After each scenario, ask students to vote on which app they would choose for their friend, then discuss their reasons why.

App Design Activity (20 min)

The final scenario allows students to sketch their own app design.

Distribute: Pass out crayons/pencils/etc to each student as they open their Thinkspot Journals. In their Thinkspot Journals, students design the home screen of the app they believe best suits Anton’s needs. They can refer to the previous activity for inspiration.

Share: After designing, students share their app design with a neighbor, or if there is time, some students can share with the whole class. Each student should answer how their app design is "right" for Anton, given his situation.

Wrap Up (5 min)

Discuss: Discuss real-world examples of how apps can help people solve problems, much like they just experienced with our code.org friends.

Reiterate the importance of empathizing with users when recommending or designing apps.

• Who is this app made for?
• What does the user like?
• What problem do they have, or what do they want?
• Is this "the right app" for them? Why or why not?