Frequently Asked Questions by Educators

Do my students need to have Google accounts?

App Inventor users need to have Google accounts. The login authentication and storage for projects is linked to a Google account. But students don’t need to use that account for any purpose other than App Inventor.

My school uses Google Apps for Education. Can my students use App Inventor with their Google Apps accounts?

App Inventor is available for Google Apps for EDU customers that have transitioned to the new Apps for EDU Infrastructure. If your Google Apps for EDU account has been transitioned to this new infrastructure than App Inventor will be available.

Can I have my students all use the same account?

App Inventor is not set up to deal with multiple users of a single account. With multiple users creating projects simultaneously, the information for the different users will interfere and the projects will become inconsistent.

Whom can I talk with about buying classroom sets of phones?

We encourage educators in the App Inventor discussion group to share ideas and experiences about how they are dealing with acquiring phones, but Google itself does not plan to provide equipment to schools. Also, by the fall we intend to build into App Inventor the ability to develop using the Android emulator that shows up in a window on the computer screen. Using the emulator isn't as good as a physical phone, because students can’t carry their apps around with them. But using the emulator does mean that you can run a class with only a few phones: Students can develop on the emulator and then load the apps on the phone for final testing and demonstrations.

Does my class need to provide a phone for every student?

We’ve found it best to have students do development work in small groups (2-3) that share a computer and a phone. Also, by the fall we intend to build into App Inventor the ability to develop using the Android emulator that shows up in a window on the computer screen. Using the emulator isn't as good as a physical phone, because students can’t carry their apps around with them. But using the emulator does mean that you can run a class with only a few phones: Students can develop on the emulator and then load the apps on the phone for final testing and demonstrations.

Will there be curricula available using App Inventor?

We hope that educators will make their courseware available publicly and we intend to foster a community of educators in order to share courseware and help each other. A community of educators has started to form around the App Inventor Instructors Google Group.