Haneke Design TEACHES KIDS HOW TO DESIGN MOBILE APPS

Haneke Design brings the basics of mobile app design to the Boys & Girls Club in Hillsborough County

We always say that our kids are going to overtake us when it comes to technology. Well, mobile app design and development agency in Tampa, Haneke Design, is proving that to be true. Kids can design mobile apps with their “Mobile App Challenge” program.

In partnership with Tribridge, Concerto Cloud Services and the Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Bay, Haneke Design sends real-life mobile app designers and developers to after-school programs where kids are taught what mobile apps are and how they solve problems in people’s everyday lives.

The students range from ages 11-14, many of whom have first-hand experience with mobile phones and an immense grasp on features and functionalities that go into them. Haneke Design was amazed to see that the kids had a strong grasp on things like Location Services, Notifications, calling within their apps, and integrating features like Facetime.

The program is designed to teach kids about identifying problems that mobile apps can help solve. They are also taught to think critically about whom their target user is, and what features would be most useful for them in the app. The designers and developers from Haneke Design that participate in the program find that it is also extremely powerful when the kids can actually put their colored pencils on a piece of paper and start to sketch out their app screens.

One of the app ideas created by the kids in the program was the “Treaters” App, which allows parents and children to track each other as they Trick-or-Treat on Halloween. The app also includes features like rating houses with the best candy and creating points of interest for houses that have haunted houses. Another app idea from the challenge was the “Clean the World” App, a mobile game where users can score points every time they clean the air, clean the city, and clean the oceans.

“Seeing the kids light up with creative ideas is always so impressive,” said Scott Strepina, project manager at Haneke Design. “Their ideas and prior knowledge always take us by surprise. These kids know so much!”

The program is ongoing and aims to inspire children to think critically and use their creativity in creating an app. Perhaps one day; one of these students will design and build a mobile app of their own!

Click here to learn more about the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

In the News

W