Pick a real problem, write user stories, design phone screens that link together, test your app and score it against your design criteria.
1The problem: pick a project brief or write your own, then build 1 to 3 user stories with the drop-down boxes and choose 3 to 5 design criteria.
2Design: tap or drag parts onto the phone. Drag them to move, drag the corner to resize, and change words, colours and links in the Properties panel.
3Link every button to a screen, then press Test and tap through your app like a real user would.
4Evaluate: read the automatic checks, give yourself stars for each criterion, then copy your design to make Design B and compare the scores.
5A finished design has 2 or more screens, every button goes somewhere, text is easy to read and every check has a green tick. Download it, share the link or print the summary.
Australian Curriculum v9.0 · Technologies · Years 2-6
App Designer walks children through the same steps real app designers use. First they pick a problem for a real group of people, such as a canteen ordering app for Year 1 students or a bus timetable for a country town, and write user stories like "As a Year 1 student, I want to choose my lunch by tapping pictures so that I do not need to read the menu". They choose 3 to 5 design criteria, then build screens on a phone canvas with headings, buttons, pictures, text boxes, checklists and a navigation bar. Buttons link screens together, so in Test mode the design works like a real app. Evaluate mode checks button size, colour contrast, broken links and empty screens, and children can copy their design to make a Design B and compare the two side by side.
Top Tip
Think about the person using your app, not about yourself. A Year 1 student cannot read a long menu and has small fingers, so big picture buttons with one or two words work better than lots of text.
Skills You Are Practising
Defining a problem for a known user
Writing user stories: As a user, I want a goal so that I get a benefit
Choosing design criteria that fit the user
Designing a user interface with several linked screens
Testing a design by using it like a real app
Evaluating and comparing two designs against criteria
In the real world
App designers at banks, councils, schools and game studios sketch screens, link them into a clickable prototype and test them with real users before any code is written. Public transport apps, canteen ordering systems and library catalogues were all designed this way.
For parents & teachers
Ask "Who is this app for, and what do they need?" before your child starts adding buttons.
Be the test user: tap through the design in Test mode and say out loud what you think each button does.
Look at an app you use together, such as a bus or weather app, and talk about why its buttons are big and its words are short.
Praise changes made after testing. Improving Design A into Design B is the real skill.
Who it suits: Year 2: pick a brief, choose one user story from the drop-down boxes and design two or three screens with big buttons. Years 3 and 4: write user stories, choose design criteria and compare Design A with Design B. Years 5 and 6: write your own brief, design a full user interface with a navigation bar, fix every automatic check and think about how the app affects the wider community.
Australian Curriculum v9.0
This game practises these content descriptions. Tap a code to see its full wording and other games for it.
AC9TDI2P01(Year 2 Digital Technologies)investigate simple problems for known users that can be solved with digital systems
AC9TDI2P03(Year 2 Digital Technologies)discuss how existing digital systems satisfy identified needs for known users
AC9TDI4P01(Year 4 Digital Technologies)define problems with given design criteria and by co-creating user stories
AC9TDI4P03(Year 4 Digital Technologies)generate, communicate and compare designs
AC9TDI4P05(Year 4 Digital Technologies)discuss how existing and student solutions satisfy the design criteria and user stories
AC9TDI6P01(Year 6 Digital Technologies)define problems with given or co-developed design criteria and by creating user stories
AC9TDI6P03(Year 6 Digital Technologies)design a user interface for a digital system
AC9TDI6P04(Year 6 Digital Technologies)generate, modify, communicate and evaluate designs