Build a small app without code
A quiz, a flashcard game, a fee calculator — described in words, built by Canvas, shared by a link.
A working one-page app for your class or work, opened on a phone and shared with a colleague.
Lesson 10 of 12 · Part 3: Go further
Build a small app without code
You can now describe a small web app and have it built while you watch. In Gemini, choose Canvas and ask for “an interactive quiz on the parts of a flower” or “a calculator for weekly fees”. It writes the code and shows the app running beside the chat; you change it by asking. Claude does the same with Artifacts. No coding — but the same rule as everything else: test it before anyone relies on it.
The idea
Describe what happens on screen
What the user sees first, what they tap, what happens next, what it shows at the end. Like explaining a board game.
Small and single-purpose
One quiz. One calculator. One flashcard set. Small apps work; big ones get tangled.
Test like a child would
Tap the wrong thing, leave a box empty, type letters into a number box. Ask it to fix each problem you find.
Step by step
- 1
Open Canvas in Gemini
Choose Canvas (in the tools menu), then describe your app in five or six sentences.
- 2
Try it in the preview
Use it as a student or customer would. Note what is confusing or broken.
- 3
Ask for changes one at a time
“Make the buttons larger for a phone.” “Show the right answer after a wrong one.” “Add Urdu labels.”
- 4
Check every answer in it
If it is a quiz, the answers are AI-written. Read every question and answer as you would a textbook proof.
- 5
Share it
Use Share to make a link, open it on your phone, and send it to one colleague for a second look.
Prompts to copy
Change the parts in [brackets], and the details to fit your own day.
Teacher
Build a one-page quiz app for Class 6 on the parts of a plant. Ten questions, one at a time, four choices each, big buttons for a phone. After each answer show whether it was right and a one-sentence explanation. At the end show the score and a “try again” button. Calm navy and gold colours.
Teacher
Build a flashcard app for these 20 English–Urdu word pairs: [paste list]. Tap to flip. Buttons for “I knew it” and “Not yet”; “Not yet” cards come back at the end.
Shop
Build a simple calculator: I enter cloth length in metres and price per metre; it shows the total, adds 5% GST, and shows the final amount in rupees. Large numbers, works on a phone.
Try it
Your task
Build one small app you would genuinely use, test it like a child would, check every answer in it, and share it with one colleague.
When you are done: You have made software — and you know it is only as good as the testing you gave it.
Check yourself
Think of your answer first, then open it. Nothing is marked or saved.
Your quiz app works. Is it ready for the class?Show answer
Only after you have checked every question and answer yourself, and tried it on a phone.
Should an app you build ask children for their names or phone numbers?Show answer
No. Keep it anonymous. A quiz does not need to know who is taking it.
Keep the trust
No personal data in what you build.
Apps you share by a link can be opened by anyone with the link. Build them to work without names, numbers or photos.