Different Components in Thunkable

Greetings, Team! It’s the perfect quiet time to explore the amazing tools hidden inside Thunkable!

You’ve planned your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), focusing on the core features. Now, let’s look at the special building blocks, called Components, that Thunkable offers to bring those features to life.

Think of Thunkable not just having basic buttons and labels, but a whole toolbox full of advanced gadgets!

Lesson Topic: Different Components in Thunkable

Part 1: Beyond Buttons & Labels (Thunkable’s Toolbox)

You already know how to add basic things like Buttons, Labels, and Text Inputs to your screen (these are called User Interface Components). But Thunkable can do so much more! It has components that let your app interact with the phone’s hardware and the outside world:

• Media Components: Use the camera, play sounds, record audio, translate languages, show videos.
• Sensor Components: Detect motion (Accelerometer, Gyroscope), find the phone’s location (Location Sensor), check the time (Timer).
• Social Components: Share text or images to other apps (like WhatsApp, Email), make calls.
• Connectivity Components: Show maps (Maps), browse websites (Web Viewer), connect to external data or services (Web API), link to Bluetooth devices.
• Storage Components: Save information within the app (app Variable), on the phone permanently (stored Variable), or even share data between users in the cloud (cloud Variable using Firebase, or connecting Data Viewers to Google Sheets/Airtable).
• AI Components: Connect to powerful AI like ChatGPT for text or DALL-E for images (OpenAI Services).
• Drawing & Games Components: Create areas for drawing or building simple animations and games (Canvas, Sprite).

Think Ugandan Examples:

• Could the Location Sensor help users find the nearest registered Boda stage or clinic?
• Could the Camera component allow users to take a picture of illegal dumping to report it?
• Could the Speech component (TextToSpeech) read out agricultural advice in Luganda?
• Could cloud Variables store high scores for an educational game shared across Uganda?
• Could the Web API pull market prices from a government website?

Knowing these components exist can spark ideas for your MVP or future features!

Part 2: Exploring the Toolbox (The Component List)

The lesson provides a big list comparing components in App Inventor and Thunkable. Since you’re using Thunkable, focus on the Thunkable column.

Don’t feel you need to memorize everything! Just browse the categories that seem relevant to your app idea. Some interesting ones to note in Thunkable include:

• Camera: For taking pictures or scanning barcodes/QR codes.
• Sound: For playing sounds or recording audio.
• Speech: Translates text-to-speech or speech-to-text.
• Share: Lets users send info from your app to other apps (WhatsApp, SMS, Email, etc.).
• Maps: To display maps and markers.
• Web API: To connect to external databases or services online.
• Sign-in: To allow user registration/login (uses Firebase).
• Location Sensor: To get the phone’s GPS coordinates.
• Timer: To schedule events or create countdowns.
• Stored Variable: To save small pieces of data directly on the phone so it’s there when the app restarts.
• Cloud Variable / Data Viewer: To save/retrieve data online, potentially sharing it between users (using Firebase, Google Sheets, or Airtable).
• OpenAI Services: To integrate ChatGPT or image generation AI.
• Canvas & Sprite: For drawing or making things move on screen.

Finding them in Thunkable: Remember, visible components (like Maps or Web Viewer) are added in the Designer tab. Non-visible components (like Location Sensor, Timer, stored Variable, Share) are usually added or managed directly in the Blocks tab.

Part 3: Learning How to Learn (The Activity – 60 mins)

This is less about coding a specific thing and more about practicing a VITAL skill: teaching yourself how to use new tools.

Your Mission:

1. Choose One Component: Look through the list in the lesson, or browse the component panel in Thunkable. Pick one component (not a basic button/label) that looks interesting or potentially useful for your app idea.
2. Become a Tech Detective: Your main task is to find out how to use this component. Go online!
   • Start with the links provided: Thunkable Docs (official documentation) and Thunkable’s YouTube Channel.
   • Use Google Search: Type things like “How to use Thunkable Location Sensor”, “Thunkable Camera component tutorial”, “Thunkable stored variable example”.
   • Look for examples, tutorials (videos or written steps), or documentation pages.
3. Try It Out (Simple Test): Once you find a good tutorial or example, try to replicate it. Build a very simple screen in Thunkable that uses just that component.
   • Example Goal: Make a button that, when clicked, uses the Camera to take a picture and display it.
   • Example Goal: Make a screen that shows your current latitude/longitude using the Location Sensor.
   • Example Goal: Make an app with a text box and two buttons: “Save” (using stored Variable) and “Load” (using stored Variable).

Why this Skill Matters: As tech creators, you will always be learning new tools, new components, new programming tricks. Knowing how to find reliable information and teach yourself is more valuable than memorizing any single component!

Part 4: Share Your Discoveries (Reflection)

Let’s talk about how that went:

• The Search: Was it easy or difficult to find a helpful tutorial or documentation for the component you chose? What search terms worked best? Did you find videos, official docs, or blog posts more helpful?
• The Potential: How could you imagine using the component you explored in your actual Technovation project (either the MVP or as a future feature)?
• The Skill: Think beyond this project. When else might you need this skill of “finding your own tutorial”? (Learning new software for school? Fixing a problem with a phone or computer? Researching a topic you’re curious about?)

Part 5: Quick Review (Key Terms = Categories!)

Remember the main types of components Thunkable offers:

• User Interface Components (the basics)
• Media Components (camera, sound, video…)
• Sensors (location, motion, time…)
• Social Components (sharing, calling…)
• Connectivity Components (maps, web, Bluetooth…)
• Storage Components (saving data locally or online)
• AI Components (connecting to AI services)
• Drawing & Games Components

So if you are searching for components and cannot find them, try looking for them in the Blocks tab.

Components in Designer Window

Thunkable non-visible components

Part 6: More Learning Resources

The lesson provides even more links to helpful Thunkable tutorial sites like:

• draganddropcode.com
• Thunkable Youtube Channel
• Thunkable Udemy course by Technovation alumna Meenakshi Nair

General resources

• GirlsCodeIt Technovation tutorials
• Full Component Reference List (Google doc for printing)

Conclusion

Kyebazeee nyo! (Thank you very much!) for practicing this essential skill of exploration and self-learning. Knowing the range of components available in Thunkable opens up so many possibilities for your app. Even if you don’t use the component you explored today in your final MVP, the process of finding information and trying it out is incredibly valuable.

Keep exploring, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to try out new components as you build your Technovation apps! Weraba! (Goodbye!)