So yesterday was it! I finished the hand sketches, or at least have enough to work with to start using software. There are still some kinks to think about and improve on: make a bottom shortcut menu, condensing the SIBDQ input page and re-work the display of "my care." It will be nice though to take a break from just paper and pen and now jump back and forth from initial storyboarding to generating electronic versions. So it is not goodbye to my favorite Four Color Pen but it is time to get involved with some new tools!
Just like my first week, when I was astonished by how easy it can be for someone to build a website with Weebly and competing software, I was amazed again by the vast options of software that serve the same function but for building apps. There are so many of these "bridges" that make the development world accessible to those of us with little programming background. I once thought everybody needs to learn CompSci because C++, Java and whatever other central computer languages that exist were bound to be the languages of the future. International languages that every 2040 child will learn with the first words of their mother tongue. Now I realize this knowledge is unnecessary and even inefficient. Just like most of us don't use Linux or other open source operating systems and prefer windows or what apple provides to us, there will be specialized website and application developers that make the process accessible to the rest of us. Obtaining programming knowledge is helpful, and still something I want to pursue, but you do not need it to innovate an old industry with new technology!
Just like my first week, when I was astonished by how easy it can be for someone to build a website with Weebly and competing software, I was amazed again by the vast options of software that serve the same function but for building apps. There are so many of these "bridges" that make the development world accessible to those of us with little programming background. I once thought everybody needs to learn CompSci because C++, Java and whatever other central computer languages that exist were bound to be the languages of the future. International languages that every 2040 child will learn with the first words of their mother tongue. Now I realize this knowledge is unnecessary and even inefficient. Just like most of us don't use Linux or other open source operating systems and prefer windows or what apple provides to us, there will be specialized website and application developers that make the process accessible to the rest of us. Obtaining programming knowledge is helpful, and still something I want to pursue, but you do not need it to innovate an old industry with new technology!
So this morning was time to explore. I first opened the three apps that Dr. Atreja recommended to me and surfed their websites. Hoping to get a sense of which software is best, I looked online for ratings and instead found this article listing many, many, more options. Though I was sure the original three would suffice, curiosity got the better of me and I visited the sites of the options that the article's author Reuven Cohen recommends. There is something out there for everyone: from the developer who wants both the independence of building on their own as well as the luxury of saving time to the uneducated (like myself) who needs all the programming to be a choice that is a click away. I gained confidence that even I can build an app and after some time went back to the three original apps that were recommended.
The first website I checked out was appnotch.com. Though not as user friendly, appnotch uses a similar system to weebly. The different design tools are present on a tool bar to the left of the screen available to be "dragged-and-dropped" right into the app. Most of the common features that are present in iphone apps are available to be added and my experience with blogging on weebly definitely made it easier to begin designing.
I added pictures, played videos and made menus, but when I began an attempt at making the home screen I sketched I immediately faced issues. There are no graph inputs, you can not just add icons to the header and the protruding menu on the top left corner is just not happening. As I have done with Weebly, I tried to use the tools that are provided to create these items in a creative manner but these efforts were to no avail. Finally I decided to try the next app and I opened codiqa.com.
The first website I checked out was appnotch.com. Though not as user friendly, appnotch uses a similar system to weebly. The different design tools are present on a tool bar to the left of the screen available to be "dragged-and-dropped" right into the app. Most of the common features that are present in iphone apps are available to be added and my experience with blogging on weebly definitely made it easier to begin designing.
I added pictures, played videos and made menus, but when I began an attempt at making the home screen I sketched I immediately faced issues. There are no graph inputs, you can not just add icons to the header and the protruding menu on the top left corner is just not happening. As I have done with Weebly, I tried to use the tools that are provided to create these items in a creative manner but these efforts were to no avail. Finally I decided to try the next app and I opened codiqa.com.
Almost the exact same. To the point where I had to look for differences. Codiqa is a little nicer to work with because the screen is more colorful (aesthetics for the designer to appreciate) but other than that, the same "drag-and-drop" method is used and the same options are available (I will admit some are labeled differently ex. checklist vs. checkbox...). Also, Codiqa does not make me confirm every time I delete an input, which was nice when I am playing around with my different options but really does not make a big difference once I am really using the software. In short, I am either going to have to get a lot better at working with these services, find a new service, learn how to program on my own or come up with a new plan. I am not willing to give up yet and am going to try again next week to work with these programs and see what I can come up with. (appsmoment.com and ibuildapp.com use ready made templates to build the app. They seem limited to creating simple apps and I did not want to use them because I wanted to maintain full control. I can look into them again next week as well.)
But nothing is easy the first day so I still have hope. It may even just be that I need to upgrade to a subscription version to have more tools. I am sure that I will find a way! May just take a while...
But nothing is easy the first day so I still have hope. It may even just be that I need to upgrade to a subscription version to have more tools. I am sure that I will find a way! May just take a while...
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