Helpful Information
Here you will find helpful information that may help you during this contest. Check back regularly, as content will be updating.
- Elaine Rising, Contest Coordinator
- Olha Stomina, Participant Coordinator
Submission Criteria
The Contest is for Mobile App development by students of UNM and CNM. The submission process will require a working binary for any mobile device platform or hosted responsive/mobile friendly web application. Any language, framework or library set is fair to use. For example, using HTML5 and PhoneGap, a binary can be built for the platforms you choose. Same with AngularJS + Ionic, React Native, jQuery Mobile and many others. Also, non- programing content management systems such as nomenproject.org are accepted as well. The only requirement is that the project can be accessed and run on a mobile device (phone/tablet) of your choosing.
Open Data Sources
Here are some examples of local and government open data sources you can use for your project.
Public Data Feeds/Sources
Data from other sources are acceptable as well. For example, news stations, Yelp! and the Weekly Alibi have feeds and event calendars that you can pull into your app. However, be careful with private APIs and data, the format may change without warning.
Demo Day, Presentations and Pitch Sessions
In addition to coding, we are interested promoting professionalism. There are many contests, hack-a-thons and start up pitch events that expose coders to opportunities for networking, investment and financial backing. By preparing a demo and pitch for your app, you have an opportunity to talk about your work and skills that went into building the app.
Shortly after you submit your Mobile App on January 5th, we will reach out to schedule a Demo Day session (date and time) for you to present your app to our panel of judges. The Demo Day will be held in the UNM SUB Theater. You will be expected to narrate your vide and answer follow up questions.
Methods of Screen Recording Your Mobile App
There are several ways to make a video recording of your Mobile App from the native OS or developer tools. There are also several free and paid applications that can help you record, edit and export a video of your app.
Your Demo Day presentation should be made up primarily by your team narrating a screen capture video of your app in action. This will cut down on set up time, device/projection system incompatibilities and help you focus on the core features of your app.
Here are some resources to help you get started. Please note UNM and CNM has not vetted or tried all the suggestions below.
Android
- Android Studio: Record a Video
- How to Record a Video of Your Screen on Android
- 5 Best Android apps for Screen Recording and Other Ways Too
iOS
- How to Capture and Record an iPhone or iPad Screen
- How to Record Your iPhone's Screen: 5 Best Solutions
Windows (Web Apps)
- Windows 10 Has a Secret Screen Recording Tool - Here's How to Use It
- The Best Free Screen Recorder of 2017
- Top 5 Free Screen Recording Software for Windows
macOS/OS X (Web Apps)
- How to Record the Screen on Your Mac, iPhone, or iPad
- The Best 5 Screen Recorders for Capturing Mac OS X
- Your Mac's Built-in Screen Recorder
Minimum Viable Product and the Short Development Cycle
When starting a coding project for a short cycle (for a class project, contest or working prototype) it may be best to use a "Minimum Viable Product" approach. Minimum Viable Product is a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers, and to provide feedback for future development (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_viable_product).
Articles & Video
- http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/08/minimum-viable-product-guide.html
- http://grisanik.com/blog/minimum-viable-product/
- https://crew.co/how-to-build-an-online-business/mvp-minimum-viable-product-example/
Free Web Hosting
If you need a (free) place to host PHP/MySQL based web services for your application, UNM IT has space to spare on our development cPanel environment, which is well suited for this. The specifications of the hosting environment are:
PHP version(s): 5.6 or 7.1 (user selectable)
MySQL version: 5.6
Storage: 1 GB
Access: Web-based file manager, SSH/SFTP, WebDAV, phpMyAdmin
Cron jobs: yes
URL Style: something.unm.edu
And the process to request (for students/teams) is:
- Go to Help.UNM (login, top right)
- Make a Request
- Web and Collaboration Services
- Website Resource Change
- Fill out the Description field accordingly (something like “need PHP/MySQL hosting for 2017-2018 App contest”)
- Click Submit
Teaching Tools
Here are some resources to learn how to develop a mobile app:
- Lynda.com - Tutorials on coding. Free to anyone with a Bernalillo County library card.
- Coursera
- CS50: Introduction to Computer Science
CNM Courses
| Course ID | Course Title |
| CIS 1210 | JavaScript Web Programming I |
| CIS 1250 | Python Programming I |
| CIS 1275 | C++ Programming I |
| CIS 1280 | .NET 1 / C # |
| CIS 1730 | JavaScript Web Programming II |
| CIS 2235 | JavaScript Programming I |
| CIS 2237 | Android APP Development |
| CIS 2275 | C++ Programming II |
| CIS 2284 | .NET 2 / C# |
| CIS 2351 | Mobile Design |
| CSCI 1151 | Intro to Computer Programming |
| DDC | Deep Dive Full Stack |
| DDC | Deep Dive .NET |
| DDC | Deep Dive Java+ Android+ Salesforce |