Resource

App / Website Creation

Author: ATU Galway

What is it?

The creation of a digital application or website which allows students creatively demonstrate the Software and IT skills learned through a specific module or topic.

Advantages & Challenges

Advantages

Challenges

Advantages

Developing an app or website requires practical IT skills that are applicable in the working world. It can help students develop skills that would be beneficial in their future careers.
This form of assessment requires students to be creative when designing the app/website and to consider various options for features that could be included.
Creating an app/website can be an engaging activity for students in comparison to traditional forms of assessment. After completing the assessment, they have a tangible output that they can add to a portfolio or CV to showcase the work they have completed.

Challenges

Tips for Use

Identify the learning objectives of this assessment i.e. are you looking to assess students on the design process, innovative ideas to solve real world issues or their ability to code and create their own sites.
Depending on what you are aiming to assess the difficulty of this assessment type will vary.
Consider as an initial step giving the students a scenario or problem that they will have to create an app or website relating to the topics.
This can be used as an individual or group-based assessment.
This process could be broken into different sections i.e. brainstorming ideas, researching the market, developing feasibility studies, storyboarding ideas, creating a wireframe and developing a prototype.
When using this assessment primarily for design purposes there are many free tools online student can use to develop their storyboards and wireframes.
Create an in-depth rubric for this form of assessment. Some ideas for areas to add to the rubric are:

Ability to design user-friendly interfaces.
Have they introduced the problem.
Write clean and efficient code (if applicable).
Creativity.
Originality.
Usability.
Functionality.
Overall quality of the final product.

Resources

Springboard.com – wireframes: How to Create a WireFrame: Step-by-Step Guide (springboard.com)
Limeup: App Design Process: 9-Step Strategy and Best Practices (limeup.io)
Builder.ai: Learn How to Create an App Prototype: Step-by-Step Guide (builder.ai)

Sample Rubrics

Katherine Edwards (2017): Rubric for the App Proposal Project – CS Discoveries / Unit and Lesson Discussion – Code.org Professional Learning Community.(Copy of App Proposal Rubric – Google Docs)

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