16 LUMEN | PROGRAMMES
Coding for
Enrichment Day
By
Mr Ng Yew Hong , Ms Karen Teo and Ryan James Chen
Every year , the Year 1 boys will do a field investigation in the tropical rainforests of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve ( MacRitchie ). This activity exposes students to real-life data collection and analysis using Geographical and Mathematical lenses , which is an important aspect of the Inquiry approach in Level 2 Learning . An app was created this year to assist the Year 1 students in collecting data , namely , the intensity of sunlight as well as the canopy cover index . The results were then used to analyze the relationship between these variables . Thereafter , the students submitted a research report on their investigation , as well as a poem of their experience of the rainforest , incorporating what they had learnt in Geography and Mathematics . The app was developed by Year 1 student James Ryan Chen , who shares his thoughts about the development of the app in this story .
When Mr . Ng Yew Hong , the Director of Academics for the Foundation Programme , challenged me to create the Geoscan app , I jumped at the opportunity . I had never attempted mobile app development so I did not know where to start . My experience mainly lies in web development so building totally native apps were out of the question for the time span I had . As such , I turned to Cordova . Cordova renders the User Interface with WebView . Since Cordova uses WebView , I am able to utilize HTML , CSS , and Javascript to create the app while still being able to access the device ’ s sensors .