Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud
    • Development

    Google App Inventor Saved by New MIT Center

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    August 17, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is funding the newly launched MIT Center for Mobile Learning, whose first task is to rescue App Inventor for Android, which Google has decided to abandon.

      Financial terms of Google’s investment in the MIT Center for Mobile Learning were not made public.

      App Inventor for Android is a tool people without programming knowledge can use to build applications for smartphones based on Google’s Android platform. App Inventor, which has about 100,000 educators, students and hobbyists on board, lets users visually fit together puzzle-piece-shaped programming blocks in a Web browser.

      Google CEO Larry Page earlier this month opted to stop development on App Inventor by the end of the year. Google said it would open the source code to the public and vowed to explore “opportunities to support the educational use of App Inventor on an open-source platform.”

      This took shape in App Inventor being a good starting point for MIT’s new center, which will focus on the design and study of new mobile technologies and applications to augment learning.

      MIT researchers will use App Inventor to construct “location-aware learning applications, mobile sensing and data collection, augmented-reality gaming and other educational uses of mobile technologies,” according to a statement.

      The MIT Center for Mobile Learning has three directors: Hal Abelson, the MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science who proposed an idea that prompted the development of App Inventor when he was on sabbatical at Google in 2008; Eric Klopfer, associate professor of science education; and Mitchel Resnick, LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research.

      Abelson said in the statement that his idea for App Inventor sprung from Resnick’s Scratch software programming platform with the core code for its programming blocks coming from Klopfer’s lab, which trains MIT students to be secondary school science and math teachers.

      “The new Media Lab initiative completes the circle,” said Abelson. “For me, it’s a terrific experience of starting with an idea, finding visionary industry leaders willing to make it a reality, then bringing it back home to MIT so I can work on projects I love, together with colleagues I admire.”

      Google, meanwhile, found a way to save App Inventor as a development tool for computer science students and researchers, without having to shell out money to fund it every year.

      It’s as good a way as any to make use of assets that would have otherwise been banished to open-source obscurity.

      Clint Boulton
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×