diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4dfba9d..a3b0cca 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -149,9 +149,11 @@ coverage/lcov.info
 **/.idea/uiDesigner.xml
 
 # VS Code
-**/.vscode/launch.json
+# VS Code (keep launch.json tracked, ignore tasks to stay client-side)
 **/.vscode/extensions.json
-**/.vscode/settings.json (optional - remove if you want to track workspace settings)
+**/.vscode/settings.json
+**/.vscode/tasks.json
+tool/bootstrap.sh
 
 # Dart Observatory/DevTools
 **/observatory_tool
diff --git a/.vscode/launch.json b/.vscode/launch.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4df3bf9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vscode/launch.json
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+{
+  "version": "0.2.0",
+  "configurations": [
+    {
+      "name": "Flutter: Android (pick device)",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "type": "dart",
+      "program": "lib/main.dart",
+      "args": []
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Flutter: iOS Simulator (if configured)",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "type": "dart",
+      "program": "lib/main.dart",
+      "args": []
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Flutter: Chrome (Web)",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "type": "dart",
+      "program": "lib/main.dart",
+      "deviceId": "chrome",
+      "args": []
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Flutter: macOS Desktop",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "type": "dart",
+      "program": "lib/main.dart",
+      "deviceId": "macos",
+      "args": []
+    }
+    ,
+    {
+      "name": "Flutter: Windows Desktop",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "type": "dart",
+      "program": "lib/main.dart",
+      "deviceId": "windows",
+      "args": []
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Flutter: Linux Desktop",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "type": "dart",
+      "program": "lib/main.dart",
+      "deviceId": "linux",
+      "args": []
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/android/app/build.gradle b/android/app/build.gradle
index de3c39a..48d283a 100644
--- a/android/app/build.gradle
+++ b/android/app/build.gradle
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ android {
 
     defaultConfig {
         applicationId "com.example.wordlist_elicitation"
-        minSdk 21
+        minSdkVersion flutter.minSdkVersion
         targetSdk 34
         versionCode flutterVersionCode.toInteger()
         versionName flutterVersionName
diff --git a/android/build.gradle b/android/build.gradle
index 8164050..62fb248 100644
--- a/android/build.gradle
+++ b/android/build.gradle
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 buildscript {
-    ext.kotlin_version = '1.9.0'
+    ext.kotlin_version = '1.9.24'
     repositories {
         google()
         mavenCentral()
     }
 
     dependencies {
-        classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle:8.1.0"
+    classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle:8.5.2"
         classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlin_version"
     }
 }
diff --git a/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c85cfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
+distributionPath=wrapper/dists
+zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
+zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.7-all.zip
diff --git a/lib/providers/wordlist_provider.dart b/lib/providers/wordlist_provider.dart
index 38e9938..74ffa51 100644
--- a/lib/providers/wordlist_provider.dart
+++ b/lib/providers/wordlist_provider.dart
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
+import '../utils/logger.dart';
 import '../models/wordlist_entry.dart';
 import '../services/database_service.dart';
 
@@ -25,8 +26,8 @@ class WordlistProvider extends ChangeNotifier {
     try {
       _entries = await _db.getAllWordlistEntries();
       _currentIndex = 0;
-    } catch (e) {
-      print('Error loading wordlist: $e');
+    } catch (e, st) {
+      Log.e('Error loading wordlist', e, st);
     } finally {
       _isLoading = false;
       notifyListeners();
@@ -41,8 +42,8 @@ class WordlistProvider extends ChangeNotifier {
         _entries[index] = entry;
         notifyListeners();
       }
-    } catch (e) {
-      print('Error updating entry: $e');
+    } catch (e, st) {
+      Log.e('Error updating entry', e, st);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/services/export_service.dart b/lib/services/export_service.dart
index dbf9dc2..348464c 100644
--- a/lib/services/export_service.dart
+++ b/lib/services/export_service.dart
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@ import 'dart:io';
 import 'dart:convert';
 import 'package:path_provider/path_provider.dart';
 import 'package:archive/archive_io.dart';
-import '../models/wordlist_entry.dart';
-import '../models/consent_record.dart';
 import 'xml_service.dart';
 import 'database_service.dart';
 
@@ -26,7 +24,8 @@ class ExportService {
     final entries = await _db.getAllWordlistEntries();
     final xmlContent = await _xmlService.exportDekerekeXml(entries);
     final xmlFile = File('${exportDir.path}/wordlist_data.xml');
-    await xmlFile.writeAsString(xmlContent, encoding: utf16);
+  // Write XML as UTF-8 (standard, widely compatible). Ensure XML header matches.
+  await xmlFile.writeAsString(xmlContent, encoding: utf8);
 
     // 2. Copy audio files
     final audioExportDir = Directory('${exportDir.path}/audio');
diff --git a/lib/services/xml_service.dart b/lib/services/xml_service.dart
index 8639865..3a28318 100644
--- a/lib/services/xml_service.dart
+++ b/lib/services/xml_service.dart
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import 'dart:io';
 import 'package:xml/xml.dart';
+import '../utils/logger.dart';
 import '../models/wordlist_entry.dart';
 import 'database_service.dart';
 
@@ -44,8 +45,8 @@ class XmlImportService {
 
         await _db.insertWordlistEntry(entry);
         importCount++;
-      } catch (e) {
-        print('Error parsing entry: $e');
+      } catch (e, st) {
+        Log.w('Error parsing entry', e, st);
         // Continue with next entry
       }
     }
@@ -60,8 +61,9 @@ class XmlImportService {
 
   /// Export to Dekereke XML format
   Future<String> exportDekerekeXml(List<WordlistEntry> entries) async {
-    final builder = XmlBuilder();
-    builder.processing('xml', 'version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"');
+  final builder = XmlBuilder();
+  // Match the file write encoding (UTF-8)
+  builder.processing('xml', 'version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"');
     
     builder.element('Wordlist', nest: () {
       for (final entry in entries) {
diff --git a/lib/utils/logger.dart b/lib/utils/logger.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f29be5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/utils/logger.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
+
+/// Tiny logging helper that is safe for production (no prints) and
+/// concise for development. Uses debugPrint to avoid console flooding.
+class Log {
+  static void d(String message) {
+    if (kDebugMode) debugPrint('[DEBUG] $message');
+  }
+
+  static void i(String message) {
+    debugPrint('[INFO] $message');
+  }
+
+  static void w(String message, [Object? error, StackTrace? stackTrace]) {
+    final suffix = _formatSuffix(error, stackTrace);
+    debugPrint('[WARN] $message$suffix');
+  }
+
+  static void e(String message, [Object? error, StackTrace? stackTrace]) {
+    final suffix = _formatSuffix(error, stackTrace);
+    debugPrint('[ERROR] $message$suffix');
+  }
+
+  static String _formatSuffix(Object? error, StackTrace? stackTrace) {
+    final parts = <String>[];
+    if (error != null) parts.add(error.toString());
+    if (stackTrace != null) parts.add('\n$stackTrace');
+    return parts.isEmpty ? '' : ' :: ${parts.join(' :: ')}';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/pubspec.yaml b/pubspec.yaml
index 154e175..772016d 100644
--- a/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pubspec.yaml
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ dependencies:
   archive: ^3.4.9
   
   # Audio Recording & Playback
-  record: ^5.0.4
+  record: ^6.1.2
   audioplayers: ^5.2.1
   permission_handler: ^11.1.0
   
   # UI Components
-  intl: ^0.18.1
+  intl: ^0.20.2
   share_plus: ^7.2.1
 
 dev_dependencies:
diff --git a/test_data/sample_wordlist.xml b/test_data/sample_wordlist.xml
index c9e6f59..b467973 100644
Binary files a/test_data/sample_wordlist.xml and b/test_data/sample_wordlist.xml differ