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Course Overview
Let the young learners grow confidence in building creative games and mobile apps using App Inventor, a visual programming tool designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Uncover core programming concepts and gain hands-on experience in executing real-world workflow in app development.
Preface Coding is an authorized programming trainer in Asia recognised by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Our curriculum is designed and developed by certified Computer Science Trainers from MIT. We’ve gained international recognition from media and scholars, featuring our programs on Financial Times, Yahoo and the official MIT blog. All of our trainers are either certified by MIT or by our MIT Master Trainers.
Find more about our international presence on our blogs.
Course Curriculum
All modules can be taken individually. Skipping to Module 2-10 will require an interview.
Introduction to Programming
This introductory module familiarises students with the App Inventor interface as they take their first steps into the world of mobile apps creation. Students will be exposed to the basic steps of app development, from user interface design to backend coding.
Through this mobile app environment, students will learn core coding concepts such as sequence, event handling and data types in the process of creating simple, yet interactive games and utilities applications.
Featured projects:
Fortune Cookies, Ball or Bomb
Featured programming concepts:
- If Then
- Variables
- Operator
The Groundworks for Apps
The importance of structuring codes effectively will become a key point of focus in this module, as students will be tasked with building projects with increasingly complicated structures. They will need to learn how to keep their codes logically clear and easy to understand, which will naturally build into their logical and pattern recognition ability.
Students will also take a deeper look into data handling, where they will learn how they can manipulate data both temporarily and permanently, and work with data storage on local and cloud databases.
Featured projects:
Bubble Shoot, Interstellar Batter
Featured programming concepts:
- Procedures
- Looping
- CRUD
Create your own Game Kingdom
Students will learn how to build complex games using interactions, databases and advanced animations while taking up the challenge to code and design their own computer program, as they immerse themselves into the role of a game developer.
Game-specific features will be broken down and explored in this module, as students examine how they can use learnt coding concepts to create visual effects, implement two player gameplay and save game progress.
Featured projects:
Street Fighter, Infinite Dodgeball
Featured programming concepts:
- Multi-screen Programming
- Level System
- Progress Saving & Loading
Just Game Development?
A meticulous selection of games and utility applications serve as a fluid learning transition for students, as they journey from game creation to utility development. Students will be working with much more complicated apps, and effectively train up their logic and organization ability.
The module will place specific focus upon deconstructing how large scale applications are structured and designed, giving students the opportunity to explore their creations from a web developer perspective.
Featured projects:
Road to Sword King, Web Browser
Featured programming concepts:
- Login System
- Upgrade System
- Domain Suffixes
What Makes a Successful Utility App?
With a vast array of utility functions, ranging from location sensors to full scale maps, App Inventor is a haven for prototyping mobile utility applications. This module aims to expand students’ creative limits through remaking popular utility applications.
This phase exposes students to practical functionalities and principles employed in real-life products (e.g. design-thinking and user journey) that are essential in real-life digital product ideation.
Featured projects:
Safety App, Running Tracker
Featured programming concepts:
- Google Maps-like functions
- Social texting and sharing
- Location and GPS sensing
Module 1 & 2: Introduction to Programming
Course Duration: 16 Hours
This introductory module familiarises students with the App Inventor interface as they take their first steps into the world of mobile apps creation. Students will be exposed to the basic steps of app development, from user interface design to backend coding.
Through this mobile app environment, students will learn core coding concepts such as sequence, event handling and data types in the process of creating simple, yet interactive games and utilities applications.
Featured projects:
- Fortune Cookies
- Ball or Bomb
Featured programming concepts:
- If Then
- Variables
- Operator
Module 3 & 4: The Groundworks for Apps
Course Duration: 16 Hours
The importance of structuring codes effectively will become a key point of focus in this module, as students will be tasked with building projects with increasingly complicated structures. They will need to learn how to keep their codes logically clear and easy to understand, which will naturally build into their logical and pattern recognition ability.
Students will also take a deeper look into data handling, where they will learn how they can manipulate data both temporarily and permanently, and work with data storage on local and cloud databases.
Featured projects:
- Bubble Shoot
- Interstellar Battle
Featured programming concepts:
- Procedures
- Looping
- CRUD
Module 5 & 6: Create your own Game Kingdom
Course Duration: 16 Hours
Students will learn how to build complex games using interactions, databases and advanced animations while taking up the challenge to code and design their own computer program, as they immerse themselves into the role of a game developer.
Game-specific features will be broken down and explored in this module, as students examine how they can use learnt coding concepts to create visual effects, implement two player gameplay and save game progress.
Featured projects:
- Street Fighter
- Infinite Dodgeball
Featured programming concepts:
- Multi-screen Programming
- Level System
- Progress Saving & Loading
Module 7 & 8: Just Game Development?
Course Duration: 16 Hours
A meticulous selection of games and utility applications serve as a fluid learning transition for students, as they journey from game creation to utility development. Students will be working with much more complicated apps, and effectively train up their logic and organization ability.
The module will place specific focus upon deconstructing how large scale applications are structured and designed, giving students the opportunity to explore their creations from a web developer perspective.
Featured projects:
- Road to Sword King
- Web Browser
Featured programming concepts:
- Login System
- Upgrade System
- Domain Suffixes
Module 9 & 10: What Makes a Successful Utility App?
Course Duration: 16 Hours
With a vast array of utility functions, ranging from location sensors to full scale maps, App Inventor is a haven for prototyping mobile utility applications. This module aims to expand students’ creative limits through remaking popular utility applications.
This phase exposes students to practical functionalities and principles employed in real-life products (e.g. design-thinking and user journey) that are essential in real-life digital product ideation.
Featured projects:
- Safety App
- Running Tracker
Featured programming concepts:
- Google Maps-like functions
- Social texting and sharing
- Location and GPS sensing
Learn through a Global Lens
Kiara
11 years old
A bright coder with a sharp eye for creative design, Kiara had always been involved in coding at school, but never found a passion for it. That all changed as she stepped through the doors of Preface Coding, where she took part in various community projects and learnt how huge of a difference a simple code could make for those around her.
Impassioned in her belief to create a better world with technology, Kiara is now a prominent figure in the Technovation team 2020, a global coding summit empowering girl coders.
Sik Sik
11 years old
Like any other post-millennial kids, Sik Sik grew up with many mobile devices around him. Although gadgets are common, something was boggling his mind — how are these games made inside a screen? That’s when his coding journey began.
“I’ve never thought that I could build an app for the grown-ups to use, in an actual shop in Hong Kong. Not when I just started coding two years ago. Now there’s an app up and running in Preface Coffee and I was one of the builders behind. The 8 year-old me wouldn’t believe that this is happening.”
Read more
Suki
17 years old
What is the norm of university applications? Sports awards, musical achievements and carefully crafted personal statements - and it's still hard to stand out even if you have all three.
Meet Suki, graduate student of our MIT App Inventor program. Using her knowledge in app development and psychology, Suki built a health app that provides support to individuals with depression. Her work was featured on the official blog of MIT, and caught the eyes of UCLA, where she currently attends as a Psychology major.
Read more
Nathaniel
14 years old
Featured in Nathaniel’s killer portfolio is an enhanced version of the Google T-Rex Game which was used as a textbook-perfect example to demonstrate the advanced features of App Inventor at MIT Boston to international educators.
Currently he is getting trained in professional programming (Python, Ruby) and building industry-grade products like Google, Facebook and Airbnb. Who knows, he might be the next Steve Jobs.
Read more
Kiara
11 years old
A bright coder with a sharp eye for creative design, Kiara had always been involved in coding at school, but never found a passion for it. That all changed as she stepped through the doors of Preface Coding, where she took part in various community projects and learnt how huge of a difference a simple code could make for those around her.
Impassioned in her belief to create a better world with technology, Kiara is now a prominent figure in the Technovation team 2020, a global coding summit empowering girl coders.
Sik Sik
11 years old
Like any other post-millennial kids, Sik Sik grew up with many mobile devices around him. Although gadgets are common, something was boggling his mind — how are these games made inside a screen? That’s when his coding journey began.
“I’ve never thought that I could build an app for the grown-ups to use, in an actual shop in Hong Kong. Not when I just started coding two years ago. Now there’s an app up and running in Preface Coffee and I was one of the builders behind. The 8 year-old me wouldn’t believe that this is happening.”
Read more
Suki
17 years old
What is the norm of university applications? Sports awards, musical achievements and carefully crafted personal statements - and it's still hard to stand out even if you have all three.
Meet Suki, graduate student of our MIT App Inventor program. Using her knowledge in app development and psychology, Suki built a health app that provides support to individuals with depression. Her work was featured on the official blog of MIT, and caught the eyes of UCLA, where she currently attends as a Psychology major.
Read more
Nathaniel
14 years old
Featured in Nathaniel’s killer portfolio is an enhanced version of the Google T-Rex Game which was used as a textbook-perfect example to demonstrate the advanced features of App Inventor at MIT Boston to international educators.
Currently he is getting trained in professional programming (Python, Ruby) and building industry-grade products like Google, Facebook and Airbnb. Who knows, he might be the next Steve Jobs.
Read more
One of a kind learning experience.
But first, get to know you.
Unlike other traditional schools that push you into standardized learning with rigid lesson plans, we tailor each lesson entirely for you. Tell us about your learning goals, your level, area of programming interests, and we’ll design lessons and exercises based on our curriculum that move you closer to your objectives and learning pace.
Calibrate the best in-lesson materials.
Lesson after lesson, we collect data and feedback on what you’re weak at and where you need help with. This facilitates gradual ever-improving personalization in lesson materials for the coming lessons you’ll have with us. We make sure your progress is always improving with endless refinements.
Decode with real-world applications.
Instead of long, skill-based lectures, we base our lectures on real-life use cases and business applications so you can easily and quickly understand how to apply different programming techniques to various scenarios.
Curate your personal learning aids.
From revision flashcard to after-class challenges, they’re all made just for you. We curate and recommend relevant learning cues so you can study smarter and rehearse core concepts at any time on our platform.
Always know you better
The more lessons you have, the better our A.I. engine generates tailor-made and ever-improving curriculum for you. Iterating from feedback after feedback, our data-driven personalized learning program will always keep you on track.
But first, get to know you
Unlike other traditional schools that push you into standardized learning with rigid lesson plans, we tailor each lesson entirely for you. Tell us about your learning goals, your level, area of programming interests, and we’ll design lessons and exercises based on our curriculum that move you closer to your objectives and learning pace.
Calibrate the best in-lesson materials
Lesson after lesson, we collect data and feedback on what you’re weak at and where you need help with. This facilitates ever-improving personalization in lesson materials for the coming lessons you’ll have with us. We make sure your progress is always improving with endless refinements.
Decode with real-world applications
Instead of long, skill-based lectures, we base our lectures on real-life use cases and business applications so you can easily and quickly understand how to apply different programming techniques to various scenarios.
Curate your personal learning aids
From revision flashcard to after-class challenges, they’re all made just for you. We curate and recommend relevant learning cues so you can study smarter and rehearse core concepts at any time on our platform.
Always know you better
The more lessons you have, the better our A.I. engine generates tailor-made and ever-improving curriculum for you. Iterating from feedback after feedback, our data-driven personalized learning program will always keep you on track.
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1-on-1 In-person Class
Get undivided attention and decide wherever, whenever convenient for you to have class. From our campus, your home to a local cafe, it’s your call.
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1-on-1 Online Class
Meet your personal instructor via Google Meet and get undivided attention. Have class wherever, whenever you want as long as you have internet access.
Wonder how our actual personalised learning experience feels like?
Enrol in our 1-hour trial classto let kids get hands-on experience with our professional instructors.
In this introductory lesson, students will be introduced to fundamental programming concepts and basic coding platform navigation with the creation of a mini-game by using their favourite characters!
How to start the 1-on-1 trial?
Enrol and complete the enrolment form
We will contact you and match your child with a personal trainer
Confirm your schedule and start to learn!
1-Hour Trial Class
App Inventor
In-person
1-on-1 Private Trainer
You can redeem the trial fee at your next purchase of any course packages!
Terms and Conditions apply.
HKD 800
Tuition
1
ENROLL
2
SCHEDULE
3
LEARN
Hour Credits
Each standard lesson is 1 hour.HKD 6,400
$800 / hour
Hour Credits
1 Free Hour CreditHKD 16,000
was $16,800
Hour Credits
4 Free Hour CreditsHKD 32,000
was $35,200
FAQ
Classes can be scheduled 2 days beforehand, so you can have lessons pretty much right after you’ve paid. Of course, you’re always welcome to book in for a later time to lock down your schedule first.
The beauty of the 1-on-1 class is you get to choose your time and class intensity, while not having to give up other priorities. Lessons can be scheduled from Mon - Sun, starting as early as 9 am or as late as 8 pm HKT.
For 1-on-1 in-person classes:
Book a class, meet and code. Time and location of your choice. We will get in touch to schedule your first lesson and guide you to the necessary tools needed. You’ll also receive reminder emails prior to each lesson.
For 1-on-1 online classes:
Book your lesson and get online. We will get in touch to schedule your lessons and set you up for the online lessons. Receive a link in your email to start your first meeting with a private coding coach online.
Yes, it is necessary for students to bring their own laptop to class. Both Mac and Windows work.
YOur curriculum is personalized by the learning feedback stored in our A.I. system. Our system can easily pinpoint the area of learning weakness for a student and tweak learning materials to make targeted improvements so the student can progress quickly.
It’s possible. Assessment and interview with the student will be required to determine where he/she should start.
