It is an application (app) for mobile devices that run on Android Operating Systems like Smartphones or tablets. The app will allow a user to navigate through each of the routes or pathways created. All the app interface and contents will be written and spoken in different languages of the partnership (French, Portuguese, Slovenian, Italian and Estonian), but also in English and Spanish. The user will be able to see the each route map, obtain instructions on the direction to follow and, as each point of interest approaches, the application will provide information belonging to the heritage database created (biological, geological, cultural, historical, etc.), type of accessibility, distance, altitude, time, difficulty and energy expended. The information available can be used in the context of learning, or to serve the visiting tourist, the sportsman , etc. At the end of the project, this app will be uploaded to Google Play and can be downloaded for free on a mobile device that uses the Android system (Smartphone or tablet).
The Android app development will be made by Slovenian computer science students with the collaboration of the Portuguese and under the guidance of the respective teachers. The Android app will be powered with contents by the entire partnership.
Development phases:
1- Google Maps API online training for programming teachers. Two Portuguese programming teachers and the Slovenian partners will learn Android development tools and Google Maps API to build the App.
2 - MySQL database design and development. Portuguese computer programming teachers and students will work together with the Slovenian partners to develop the database which will be used to save GPS points and point of interest and associated educational content. This work will be preceded by an online meeting (MV1) for decision-making regarding first technical configurations.
3- Graphic design and project logo development, by the design or applied art classes, under the guidance of the respective teachers. This will be the brand image of the project.
4- Application development for collecting GPS points. Programming work by Slovenian pupils guided by the respective teachers and assisted by the 2 Portuguese teachers. It is a digital application for the Android operative system, to receive satellite signals in order to obtain the coordinates for recording of routes and points of interest.
5- Training in France for teachers and "leader" pupils in each institution: "Global positioning systems and tools for georeferencing". The training will have 2 different parts: theoretical and practical (outdoor).
6- Information gathering and georeference: in each school, students and teachers, in the involved subjects, go out to collect georeferencing points for the routes. They will use the Android tools that will be available on smartphones and tablets and software built by Slovenian students with the help of Portuguese. They will make a first collection of information and multimedia. On site, they will confirm and deepen the learning made in progress. They will check the accessibility to ensure that the routes are suitable for people with reduced mobility. As part of Physical and Sports Education, they will check the distance, altitude, and calculate the calories expended to make their journeys. Students will work on the multimedia content associated with the points of interest of the courses after processing the information collected within the framework of each discipline.
7- Contents will be saved on the on-line database: multimedia contents and GPS coordinates.
8- App development. Digital pathway guides by Slovenian computer programming students to enable the user with an Android mobile device (Smartphone or tablet) to navigate these routes and have access to the multimedia content created by the five institutions.
9- First corrections to the App and associated multimedia contents after analysis of the suggestions presented during the experiments.
10- Final corrections.