Erica Ji Yuen

Erica Ji Yuen

Scholar Title

MIT EECS Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scholar

Research Title

Creating Data Visualization Features in App Inventor

Cohort

2017–2018

Department

EECS

Research Areas
  • Software Design and Programming Languages
Supervisor

Harold Abelson

Abstract

App Inventor is an educational-outreach initiative whose vision is to make computer science education more accessible and easy to learn. The platform provides users with an introduction to programming via an intuitive drag-and-drop block interface. My role in this project will consist of two parts. The first is designing and developing data visualization features that will allow students to visualize collected data of mobile apps that they create. By providing these features, students will be able to increase their applications’ potential impact. The second part is creating a curriculum to help students and teachers learn computer science concepts using App Inventor. This project will expose students to computational thinking early, ultimately helping to create a generation of better problem-solvers.

Quote

My SuperUROP project gives me the opportunity to apply my computer science education on a high-impact long-term project. I enjoyed learning about the UI design process in User Interface Design & Implementation (6.813) and look forward to applying that experience in creating data-visualization features for App Inventor. Research with the App Inventor team aligns very well with my interest in making computer science education more accessible globally while contributing to my technical growth.

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