SECTION 127.768. Mobile Application Development (One Credit)

(a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course. Prerequisite: Algebra I. This course is recommended for students in Grades 9-12.

(b) Introduction.

(1) Career and technical education instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed in current or emerging professions.

(2) The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Career Cluster focuses on planning, managing, and providing scientific research and professional and technical services, including laboratory and testing services, and research and development services.

(3) Mobile Application Development will foster students' creativity and innovation by presenting opportunities to design, implement, and deliver meaningful projects using mobile computing devices. Students will collaborate with one another, their instructor, and various electronic communities to solve problems presented throughout the course. Through data analysis, students will identify task requirements, plan search strategies, and use software development concepts to access, analyze, and evaluate information needed to program mobile devices. By using software design knowledge and skills that support the work of individuals and groups in solving problems, students will select the technology appropriate for the task, synthesize knowledge, create solutions, and evaluate the results. Students will learn digital citizenship by researching current laws and regulations and by practicing integrity and respect. Students will gain an understanding of the principles of mobile application development through the study of development platforms, programming languages, and software design standards. The six strands include creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking; problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.

(4) Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations and other leadership or extracurricular organizations.

(5) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

(c) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Creativity and innovation. The student develops products and generates new understanding by extending existing knowledge. The student is expected to:

(A) create effective user interfaces appropriate for a specified mobile device that is best suited for an identified purpose;

(B) create effective user interfaces for browser-based, native, and hybrid mobile applications;

(C) create mobile application components appropriate for identified needs;

(D) create browser-based applications for mobile devices;

(E) create native applications that can reside on specified mobile devices; and

(F) create mobile applications that combine native and hybrid components.

(2) Communication and collaboration. The student communicates and collaborates with peers to contribute to his or her own learning and the learning of others. The student is expected to:

(A) demonstrate an understanding of and discuss how teams function;

(B) use teamwork to solve problems;

(C) describe the development workflow of mobile applications;

(D) use time-management techniques to develop and maintain work schedules, meet deadlines, and establish mobile application project criteria;

(E) describe a problem solution; and

(F) document and share problem solutions through various media.

(3) Research and information fluency. The student locates, analyzes, processes, and organizes data. The student is expected to:

(A) analyze, identify, and describe mobile application project stakeholders and their perspectives;

(B) collect and analyze available data to identify mobile application project requirements;

(C) analyze, identify, and describe input, output, and processing requirements; and

(D) analyze, identify, and define hardware and software specifications.

(4) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The student uses appropriate strategies to analyze problems and design algorithms. The student is expected to:

(A) compare and contrast design decisions based on the hardware considerations of a mobile device;

(B) compare and contrast available mobile technologies, including platforms and their operating systems;

(C) compare and contrast available development approaches, including application to specific technologies and platforms;

(D) determine the most appropriate solution for the development of a given mobile application, including browser-based, native, and hybrid approaches;

(E) compare and contrast available programming languages and how their use might be applied to specific technologies and platforms;

(F) identify and justify the selection of an appropriate programming language, including available resources and required interfaces;

(G) select an appropriate program development environment;

(H) identify and use available libraries;

(I) evaluate and justify the selection of appropriate options and components;

(J) compare and contrast available networks and their implications for mobile application development; and

(K) compare and contrast design strategies related to mobile network and device security.

(5) Digital citizenship. The student explores and understands safety, legal, cultural, and societal issues relating to the use of technology and information. The student is expected to:

(A) discuss copyright laws and issues;

(B) model ethical acquisition and use of digital information;

(C) cite sources using established methods;

(D) demonstrate proper digital etiquette and knowledge of acceptable use policies;

(E) investigate mobile device security measures such as passwords, virus detection, and virus prevention;

(F) describe potential risks and benefits associated with the use of a mobile application;

(G) identify current and emerging technologies related to mobile applications; and

(H) evaluate technologies and assess their applicability to current mobile applications.

(6) Technology operations and concepts. The student understands technology concepts, systems, and operations as they apply to computer science. The student is expected to:

(A) demonstrate an understanding of the difference between desktop and mobile applications;

(B) demonstrate an understanding of hardware and software structures and requirements in the design of mobile applications;

(C) recognize multiple platforms and demonstrate an understanding of their associated requirements;

(D) recognize various program development environments;

(E) demonstrate an understanding of event-based programming and its appropriate use;

(F) describe how memory management affects mobile application design;

(G) demonstrate an understanding of how low bandwidth and the mobility of a device affect the design of mobile applications;

(H) identify applications that are best suited for mobile devices;

(I) demonstrate an understanding of the use of libraries when designing mobile applications;

(J) use a simulation tool to emulate a mobile device's functionality; and

(K) use actual mobile devices to test mobile applications.

Source Note: The provisions of this §127.768 adopted to be effective April 7, 2022, 47 TexReg 1677