Technovation Challenge 2014 Work plan for team leads

1. Brainstorming
Lesson 2

2. Agenda
Topics
Activities
Brainstorm App Ideas
• Mole Mash 2 – Tutorial and
Concepts (45 mins.)
• Lean Startup – 15 (mins.)
• Brainstorm App Ideas – (50
mins.)
• Wrap-up (10 mins.)

3. Mole Mash 2 - Tutorial
• Link to tutorialhttp://tinyurl.com/n4a47yr
• This tutorial shows you how to build
a game similar to the Whac-AMoleTM arcade game. You whack
(tap) a mole that randomly pops
out of one of five fixed holes. Every
time you succeed, your score is
increased by one point.

4. Mole Mash 2 - Concepts
The tutorial covers the following components and concepts:
• The ImageSprite component for touch-sensitive movable
images.
• The Canvas component, which acts as a surface on which to
place the ImageSprite.
• The Clock component to move the sprite around.
• The Sound component to produce a vibration when the mole
is touched.
• The Button component to start a new game.
• Procedures to implement repeated behavior, such as moving
the mole.
• Generating random numbers.
• Using the addition (+) and subtraction (-) blocks.

5. Mole Mash 2 – Designing the Components
You’ll use these components to make MoleMash:
• A Canvas that serves as a playing field.
• An ImageSprite that displays a picture of a mole and can
move around and sense when the mole is touched.
• A Sound that vibrates when the mole is touched.
• Labels that display “Hits: ”, “Misses: ”, and the actual numbers
of hits and misses.
• Horizontal Arrangements to correctly position the Labels.
• A Button to reset the numbers of hits and misses to 0.
• A Clock to make the mole move once per second

6. Before you think about your App Idea
Before the team thinks about the app they’d like to develop, here
are few considerations:
• What is your problem statement?
• What challenge will the app address?
• Will the app have a market? Will people want to download
and use it?
• Will the app be scalable?

7. Lean Startup
Source: Eric Ries – startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com

8. IDEAS
•
•
•
•
Don’t be afraid to put any and all ideas out
Start with a large list and trim down
Start simple and then build
BUILD your idea with code

9. CODE - Resources
To help you code your app, you can access the following
resources:
• App Inventor tutorials (covered in session 1 and 2 of the
Technovation Challenge)
• App Inventor Community Gallery –
http://tinyurl.com/l9ng5v3 (for advanced research)
• Wellesley- http://tinyurl.com/kml7oyd (for advanced
research)

10. DATA
•
•
•
Iterate quickly- in the beginning, it's fine if your product idea
changes significantly from one day to the next, as long as you
are basing your decisions on the feedback of your target users
Do lots of user testing and edit your app based on the feedback
you receive - we are going to dig deeper into Usability testing
and User interface in the later lessons.
Start with a minimum set of features and add features over time
based on most popular user requests

11. Activity: Brainstorm App Ideas
• Rules of Engagement:
o Stay positive and persistent
o Keep and open mind
• Activity- suggesting ideas (based on exercise
designed by Ben Shapiro, Asst. Prof. at Tufts
University)

12. Instructions for the Activity
1.
2.
Give each participant 4 index cards
Give participants to think about a brief story idea –
encourage to think about stories that can also translate as
app ideas
3. From the story idea ask the girls to highlight the following on
the index cards
4. On each card the participant will write:
o 1 user (woman, high school girl, parent, teacher- the
central character of their story)
o 1 verb
o 1 object (classroom, garden, books, etc.)
o 1 Noun/Adjective/Adverb/Verb

13. Instructions for the Activity (cont.)
5. Shuffle all the index cards
6. Participants will pick 4 cards from the stack to re-create the
story
7. Participants tell their story using the new set of index cards –
they can trade cards if another team member is willing
8. Write the story in 2-3 sentences on the flip chart
9. Each participant can pick any story from the flip chart and
create a package to pitch it
10. All participants present the stories with the help of the
package
11. Team leads will summarize all stories and encourage the girls
to think about app ideas around it

14. 4 Index Cards
1 User
1 Verb
1 Object
1 Noun, Adjective,
Adverb, or Verb
(Optional) If the participants
have their Student Workbooks with
them, ask them to record answers on
Pg. 6
of the workbook

15. 4 Index Cards - Examples
•
•
•
•
1 User – for example women or grandma
1 Verb – for example needs or share
1 Object – for example space or routes
1 Noun, Adjective, Adverb, or Verb – for
example gardening or safety

16. Card Shuffle and New Story
•
•
•
•
Shuffle all the index cards
Invite the girls to pick 4 cards from the stack
Participants will create a new story using the
new index cards
They can trade cards if others in the group are
willing
(Optional) If the participants have their
Student Workbooks with them, Write
your story in Pg. 6
of the workbook

17. Story Share
• Ask each participant to write their story in 2-3 sentences
on the flip chart
• Example: Sophie lives in an apartment now and misses
gardening. She uses Pretty Plot to find a young couple who
need help planting flowers for their new home.
(Optional) If the participants have their
Student Workbooks with them, Write
your story in Pg. 6
of the workbook

18. Pick a Story to Package!
• Ask each participant to pick one story from the flip chart
• Design the box to sell this story – imagine that this story
is your app idea and you are designing a box to sell your
app (if apps came in boxes).

19. Packaging Your Story/App
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•
•
•
•
What is it called?
Who is it for?
What is the tagline/slogan?
What are its most compelling features and benefits?
What imagery would make it stand out?

20. Present Your Story/App
Highlight the following:
• Who was the central character of your story? Who is the app
for? Women, students, teachers, youth
• What was the central theme of your story? What challenge does
the app address?
• What are the other highlights of your story? What are the most
compelling features of your app?
• Title of your story? Name and tagline of your app?

21. Turning Stories into Apps Ideas!
• Team leads will summarize the stories/app ideas presented by
the participants
• Ask the girls to think about all the ideas and come up with their
favorite app idea based on these stories for the next session
• Encourage the girls to think beyond their stories and suggest an
idea that would be innovative and feasible

22. Next Week: Finalize your app idea!
• Request participants to come for next session
with an app idea– they will be making the
first screen next week!
• If they have time, participants can start
sketching out some of the ideas to inspire the
look and feel of their app

23. Wrap-Up
• Share a photo of your session with WeTech at
wetech@iie.org or the Facebook Group http://tinyurl.com/mmzjwed
• Tweet us: @technovation #technovation
• Like us on Facebook: Technovation Challenge
• Post on the Technovation Forum:
o Answer: What was the best part about the
brainstorming process?
o Or post your own question or comment!