In order to allow students and staff an easy access to the Niles West News website, math teacher Matthew Fahrenbacher and his Video Game and Programming students designed an Niles West News app.
While working on the unit of mobile app development, Fahrenbacher decided it would be a good idea to design an app for the Niles West News website. It would allow everyone to be able to easily access articles on the website. His students wrote both the Android and the iOS apps themselves.
“I think the app makes keeping up to date on the most recent news easy and pain free. I use it all the time to see the bell schedule,” Fahrenbacher said.
Junior Andy Uyeda helped design this app when he was a sophomore last year. He says designing it was a fun task.
“It was fun developing the app. It gave me a chance to learn a new language. It was tough because the project was assigned at the end of the year, and my whole group was made up of seniors. Because of AP testing, it was hard for us to coordinate the tasks. I am really grateful for Mr. Fahrenbacher who supplied ideas, support, and lots of help,” Uyeda said.
Senior Mahnoor Bhatti also agree with Fahrenbacher that the app makes accessing the news easier.
“It [the app] is an easy way to learn about what’s going on in school by the touch of an app instead of going on the website,” Bhatti said. “If you go on the NWN’s website everyday, then this is a must.
Uyeda also encourages students to use the app.
” Students should use this app to read, favorite, and tweet Niles West News articles. Although it is the news app, I do think that the bell schedule will get used a lot. There are 13 different schedules if I’m not mistaken, and this is much easier than printing out the day’s bell schedule each time. Lastly, people should download this app because it will give them insight into what they can be learning in Mr. Fahrenbacher’s VGPD class,” Uyeda said.
Some students like senior Asma Hussain, however, are disappointed that it does not function in a few specific phones.
“I really wanted to try the Niles West News, but due to some iOS6 software, I can’t,” Hussain said.
