[Class Report] Introduction to System Development – Week 7: Combine Functions to Create a Mini App!
In Week 7, students worked on a project to create simple mini apps (like diagnostic tools or interactive programs) by making full use of what they’ve learned so far: variables, conditionals, loops, lists, and functions.
■ Teacher’s Introduction: “Functions Are Building Blocks. Today, Let’s Assemble Them Into a Creation”
Mr. Tanaka: “Today marks the shift from ‘writing’ programs to ‘creating’ them. Try turning the ideas in your head into real, working code.”
Three sample project themes were presented on the whiteboard:
💡 Sample Themes:
- A simple fortune-telling app that shows your luck for today after entering your name
- A personality test that gives a type diagnosis based on your answers
- A number-based fortune app that gives a message based on your favorite number
Student A: “Wait, we get to make whatever we like?”
Mr. Tanaka: “Exactly. Today is less about the ‘correct answer’ and more about ‘your creativity’!”
■ Hands-on Practice: Dividing and Assembling with Functions
Students began by writing down what their program would do, breaking it into individual functions, then working on each function separately before connecting them into a complete app.
Example: Part of a Fortune-Telling App
import random
def get_name():
name = input("Please enter your name: ")
return name
def draw_fortune():
fortunes = ["Great luck", "Good luck", "Small luck", "Bad luck"]
return random.choice(fortunes)
def show_result(name, result):
print(name + ", your fortune is... \"" + result + "\"!")
# Main execution
name = get_name()
fortune = draw_fortune()
show_result(name, fortune)
Student B: “Whoa, it actually shows a fortune with my name!”
Student C: “And it changes a little every time—so fun!”
■ Quiet Time: Focused Development in Pairs or Solo
During this time, students focused intently on their keyboards, occasionally consulting each other as they assembled their code.
- Displaying results based on conditional personality types
- Looping through multiple questions
- Calculating scores based on answers
All sorts of creative mini apps were brought to life.
Student D: “Without functions, this would’ve been a total mess.”
Student E: “Everything we’ve learned since week one is finally coming together.”
■ Teacher’s Message
“Combining functions and conditionals to build a ‘product’ is the essence of system development. Even if your code is short today, the way you think about it is real. The fact that you turned your ideas into working programs is the biggest win.”
■ Next Week’s Preview: Presentation Day! Demo + Code Explanation
Next time, students will present the mini apps they created, sharing what they came up with and how their code works with the class.
By seeing their classmates’ code, they’re sure to gain new insights!
From just “writing” code to “creating” it—and now to “sharing” it.
Our first-year students are stepping into the next phase of their learning journey.