As teachers, when it comes to creating lessons designed to keep our students engaged, we sometimes wrack our brains trying to come up with solutions, spending nights and even weekends creating the perfect lesson. Once we present it to the class, it often only gets a mixed bag of reactions from our students, leaving us feeling defeated. We have all been there at some point, and a reaction like that is tough to swallow. The question becomes, what can we do to get these kids engaged in their learning? We can help them become “app-reneuers” of course!

MAD-learn: app creation for the 21st century

I have been really excited and passionate about MAD-learn since being introduced to it. MAD-learn is an educational mobile app development program for students K-12. It provides a curriculum to engage students by teaching them how to create their own mobile apps! This is a great solution to getting your students engaged in learning. So why should you be interested in app development? Here are just a few reasons:

• Kids are mobile natives, most of them have been using phones and devices their whole lives.
• You don’t need to know how to code to create an app with MAD-learn!
• App development is a vehicle to teach broader topics and can align with other curriculum tasks and goals.
• Students will learn vital and transferable skills for other classes and life beyond the classroom.
• App development ensures the digital inclusion of diverse populations.

Engaging students with MAD-learn in the classroom

Now that you’re interested, let me talk a bit more about why I choose MAD-learn over other app development programs. They are an education-first company, focusing on technology second.  This impressed me because students can create and interact with their app creations without having to know how to code. Therefore, you can use this program in place of traditional posters or slide presentations for classroom research projects and presentations. Students utilize a six- step design thinking process from ideation to the launch of their app. Additionally, the program encourages entrepreneurship and your students will build 21st century skills that will stay with them forever. MAD-learn is a great way to prepare students for the careers of the future, whether that be as an “app-reneur” or something else.

When deciding on what is the best way to keep my students engaged, I find it useful to connect them with something that is a part of their daily lives. App creation with MAD-learn makes this easy to do. Creating something specific to compliment your curriculum will have students engaged and excited to learn. If I haven’t convinced you yet, check it out for yourself in the MAD-learn Basics professional development course on OTIS. 

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more content on the Teq Talk blog or our YouTube channels OTIS for educators and Tequipment.

We also offer virtual professional development, training, and support with OTIS for educators. Explore the technology and strategies that spark student success — no matter where teaching or learning are happening!

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