The App Works!

The Android device came in a couple of days ago.  I was able to download the app I created onto the phone, but had to change the security settings to allow installation of an app from unknown sources.  The phone promptly gave me a warning regarding the possibility of problems with security (or lack thereof) of non-approved apps.  As this phone was only meant for using apps I created (and a spare phone for travel), I installed the app, switched it to Airplane mode and carried on.

It worked wonderfully.  As you can see in the video, with the target image on the wall, I was able to move and scale the angle, just as I wanted.

This can come in handy for use in class because I will not need large targets, nor will I need to worry about the height of the student.  The other bonus is that the lesson provided instruction on how to add multiple targets. So, I can add another target image for the right shoulder abduction measurement.

When reflecting on the use of the CAI, it did provide instruction on using an older version of Unity.  In order to ensure the learning was fruitful, it required extra reading on the Unity forums to figure out the updated version and it required a bit of playing around to see the difference between a PC and Mac version.  For $14.99 it was worth it.  For the original price of $204.99, it would not have been worth it.  I recommend this CAI as long as you are willing to do a bit of extra work.  Another search in Udemy revealed that this is the only version of the course.  The instructor has not updated the course.  This is understandable as “the cost of producing CAI programs can be expensive” (Romaniuk, 2013).

From a general perspective, CAI was effective in assisting me to develop the app that I wanted and it allowed me to learn at my own pace, at my own time, and location, thanks to the mobile app version of Udemy.

The fun of this exercise was being able to build a simple app for my instructional design.  However, I can see that I will need to reflect on this because it took several hours to follow the lessons and build the app.  It will be quicker the next time, but overall would this lesson have been worthwhile if it was not part of an assignment for my current course?  In other words, if all of this time was for a simple add-on to a lecture, was it worth it?  The app cannot be shared at this time due to security concerns and in order to share it, there will be charges to be a developer.  Charges that will come out of my pocket, not the organization’s.

Food for thought for my next assignment, but for now I am quite excited that the app works and that I have something to use for next year’s sonography group.

Reference

Romaniuk, E.W. (2013). Computer-assisted learning.  In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/computer-assisted-learning