Fife College – External review 24 April 2015
Excellent practice
Learners using the development of Apps to meet educational
and community need
The Apps for good project was put in place to raise the levels of motivation, enhance
problem solving abilities, and raise awareness of community issues. The activity,
Apps for good, has been introduced in to National Qualification (NQ) Digital Media
Computing programmes. Learners work in teams to develop Apps for phones,
tablets or the web which help solve a specific social or community problem.
Learners create, launch and market new and exciting products using a medium that
they enjoy. There is a national website and organisations who support this work by
making links with experts and sponsors.
Teaching staff use open-source technology to deliver the project to NQ learners who
work together to find real issues about which they care. They learn to build a mobile,
web or social app to solve these problems. Learners cover all aspects of product
development from idea generation, technical feasibility, programming, marketing and
business models. The project was included to cover aspects of mobile technology
that had not previously been addressed at this level, including programming for
mobile devices. The use of external experts to cover various aspects of the course
gives learners access to a wealth of industry knowledge and experience that they
would otherwise not have.
Engagement in the project is very high, with all teams taking very proactive
approaches to their work and reporting high levels of satisfaction from the work.
Ideas for Apps have included: identifying places to visit and eat in Fife; developing
software to help protect children on line by identifying key phrases used by
predators; and a simple Get Well e-card app that is easy to use and personalise. In
2014 one of the Fife College groups was shortlisted for the final awards in London
from a pool of over 200 other establishments.
The impact of this work on the learners has included: greater use of modern
technology; higher levels of engagement and motivation; real interaction with
industry experts; and a focus on social and community issues being addressed
through the use of technology. The development of planning, teamwork and
technical skills have all been enhanced in an engaging and constructive way.