Programming is hard work. Google App Inventor can't change that.

And it may even be a great gateway drug to real programming. App Inventor looks a lot like MIT's Scratch, which I used to teach some fifth graders simple programming constructs last school year. As much as they enjoyed that, I think they'd love using the same building-block type program construction to make something for their phones (yes, apparently fifth graders have smartphones these days).

> Like David says, it’s still programming even if you’re dragging around blocks rather than hammering out code.

Yes, but it's _easier_ programming (you don't have to both learn the semantics and remember exactly what syntax to use at the same time), which makes it a wonderful way to start.

This is a misunderstanding. You need programming knowledge to make programs. App Inventor takes out/simplifies the coding requirement. If you want to make Tetris with App Inventor, you still need to know (or learn along the way) how to program.