Creating a Blogger App

Back in April  @Lenva and I represented Manaiakalani at an impactNPO Hackathon weekend, held at GridALK.  impactNPO organise these events nationwide and focus on creating working solutions for charities or non-profits.  More about the event here

Awesome Team supporting us at the impactNPO Hackathon

We were there to hopefully find a solution for our young people, specifically our Year 0-3 learners using an iPad to share their learning via Blogger. Previously we used a blogger App for iOS however it had been discontinued and the desktop version of blogger on iOS is a challenge. 

Our role was to provide as much information as possible to help the team of volunteers develop a solution for us. We were impressed at how many of the features on our wish list they were able to include in such a short space of time. By Sunday afternoon we had a solution ready to pilot with one of our teachers. 

The pilot will include identify anything that is not working or could be improved and figure out how we can add the features we did not have time to develop, during the Hackathon weekend.

Some developments I am most excited about:

• Integration with Google Drive - we wanted learners to be able to access their Drive files from the app, specifically Explain Everything projects that had been exported as video files.

• Bonus - other files can also be embedded including images and Slides directly from the Drive

• User-centered design that was all about making the complex simple. Images of our early wireframes here

• Rather than developing a specific iOS App the designers recommended the solution be web based. This also means the App can be accessed by learners on their Chromebooks. Consequently our Chromebookers now have a choice between Blogger and/or the App in response to their needs.  

Follow up posts in response to piloting the App and further developments will be posted here.

impactNPO - amplifying social impact by harnessing potential for good

@Lenva and I represented Manaiakalani at an impactNPO Hackathon weekend in April, held at  GridALK. The aim of these events is to create a working solution for charities or non-profits. The solution that participants work on over the weekend depends on the needs of the individual NPOs they choose to help.  

We were there to hopefully find a solution for our young people, specifically our Year 0-3 learners using an iPad to share their learning via Blogger.  Previously we used a blogger App for iOS however this is no longer available and the desktop version of blogger on iOS is challenging for our little people to grapple with. This was a weekend commitment by everyone participating. We were on a mission!

How the Hackathon works?

On Friday evening each of the NPOs had 5 minutes to pitch their problem followed by a speed dating session where the volunteers had an opportunity to ask questions and make connections with others, so each team had the skills they needed to solve their specific problem.

Our Manaiakalani Pitch

Saturday and Sunday were spent creating a working solution. Lenva and I attended over the weekend to answer questions and as a reference for the volunteers, to ensure they had everything needed to develop a solution by the end of the weekend. Each team also shared regular progress reports, which also helped us stay on track with our timing.

We had an awesome team of talented people on our project, including designers and programmers. Can't say enough about the hours of collaboration and problem solving they invested over the weekend to build a workable and bespoke solution for us. More about our solution in future posts...

Do check out http://www.impactnpo.org for future Hackathon weekends around the country.

GridAKL our space for the weekend's Hackathon