Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2013 - (Page 24)

by Amy dusto Cool Apps Built by T eens When you browse Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store, it might seem that there is an app for everything. But when you need an app to solve a specific problem in your everyday life, you might find, as these high school students did, that sometimes the best way to get the app you need is to develop it yourself. FinisH Finish is designed to organize tasks according to timeframes the user sets. For example, a student could indicate that shortterm tasks must be complete within two days, mediumterm tasks within two weeks, and long-term tasks within a month. Then, as time goes by, the app slides the tasks into the right categories, keeping the more pressing ones at the front. The app also lets SHUTTERSTOCK L ast year, Ryan Orbuch decided that the planner that his Boulder, Colorado, high school distributed to students wasn’t st helping him organize his busy life. So he came up with a more useful and convenient solution, a planner app for the iPhone that automatically pushes more pressing tasks to the front of the line and reminds users when their deadlines are approaching. Called “Finish,” it went on sale in January for 99 cents. So far, it’s been downloaded more than 24,000 times, Ryan says. users set notifications to remind them to, say, finish their homework. On the first day the app became available in the Apple App Store, it reached No. 2 in the productivity category; by the next morning, it was No. 1. He sells the app under the label of the company he founded while building it, Basil Ltd. Beyond updates and expanded features that Ryan says are in the works, he’s planning to develop other education-related technology projects through Basil. The 16-year-old 11th grader had never built an app, started a business, or done much coding before, he says. But he knew where to look for those skills: Ryan asked his friend and classmate Michael Hansen, a more experienced programmer, to build the prototype he designed. They started early last fall, with Ryan handling the layout and look of the app and Michael writing the code that directs how it works. During the project, the two realized they each needed help. On the coding end, Michael turned to online app development forums to figure may/Jun 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2013

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2013
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Code Me In
Getting Started With Computational Problem Solving
Coding for Gold
The Computer Science Connection
Magical & Practical
The Creative, Collaborative Universe of Minecraft
Going Mobile
Connecting Students and Cultures Through Technology
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Words With Friends
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2013