Liz Looney

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Liz Looney is a pioneering educator and technologist whose work has made mobile app development accessible to everyone. Her primary research area centers on visual programming environments for education, with a particular focus on democratizing technology creation through MIT App Inventor. Looney's major contribution is co-authoring "App Inventor 2" (2014), a landmark text that has garnered 7 citations and transformed how beginners learn to build Android applications. The book provides step-by-step instructions for over a dozen projects, empowering students, teachers, and hobbyists to create functional apps without prior coding experience. Her work has had a profound impact on computer science education, enabling thousands of learners to transition from technology consumers to creators. Looney's achievement lies in bridging the gap between complex programming concepts and intuitive, visual tools, making her an influential figure in computational thinking and STEM outreach. Her accessible approach continues to inspire a new generation of developers and educators worldwide.