Android Development Being Offered as a Public College Course by NJIT
We’ve been dying to see more Android in schools – whether it be for application development courses or devices used as companion tools for learning. We’ve seen middle schools and high schools adopt Android to teach budding programmers, and now the New Jersey Institute of Technology is offering public courses for anyone who wants to learn how to develop for Android.
Things kick off January 18th for just $1,050: I’d consider that a small price to pay, pending the quality of education. I’m actually kind of wishing there were courses like that in my area. I’m sure many of you wouldn’t travel to Jersey for this course, but if you’re in that area and you’ve been wanting to get into Android development, it sounds worth a quick shot. Press details straight ahead.
[Update]: Well would you look at that: it’s an online course. No need to travel at all. Though I must say, I’d feel 10 times more comfortable in a physical classroom environment. Worth a shot if you’re serious, regardless.
Want to learn more about creating and deploying the world’ s fastest growing mobile operating system? Then consider enrolling in NJIT’s newest non-credit, 30-hour online course offering Android applications for software simulators and hardware devices.
The Android Operating System Application Development Course, which starts Jan. 18, 2011, is open to the public and will offer the skills and tools needed for designing and implementing software using the Android 2.2 environment. The cost is $1,050: register by Jan. 17, 2010 athttp://cpe-njit.mobi/ or call 800-624-9850.
“Consider this course an excellent way to get a start on developing applications for a tablet operating system,” said instructor Tim Kellers. During the past year, Android systems have demonstrated a 35 percent increase in market share. “As new smart phones and tablet devices appear, there is a growing competitive opportunity to design and market commercial Android-based apps,” added Kellers.
The Android operating system is the marketplace’s response to Apple’s iPhone/iPad ios4 operating system. Android developers, however, are not limited to developing for only one hardware manufacturer. Android operating systems are now distributed on more than 20 brands of hardware and are available to any cell phone service provider.
Because the Android operating system is based on open source software, no proprietary restrictions or license fee payments are required to use its software and open-source development tools. There are also no charges for using the software of the development environment tools.The Android market is the clearing house for user-designed apps, offering developers a fast and convenient way to be paid for their distributed software. The Android market already has upwards of 100,000 apps available for purchase or free download. Within two years, the projected demand for Android-based application software is expected to exceed the capacity of Apple’s highly successful AppStore. The combined annual revenues paid to developers from both platforms are annually expected to exceed $3 billion.
NJIT will award three continuing education units (CEUs) upon the successful completion of the course. Study topics will include getting started, Android controls using XML, table layout in Android, interface themes, creating background services and using the WebKit. More topics include user interfaces, programming services and investigating multi-threading. Each student will design their own final project application, a culmination of performed tasks and assignments included in each module.
To get started, you’ll need a dial-up or broad-band Internet connection in addition to a computer capable (or higher) of running the 2.2 Android Software Development Kit plus a supported operating system. Such systems include Windows XP (32-bit), Vista (32- or 64-bit), or Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit); Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later (x86 only); Linux (tested on Linux Ubuntu Hardy Heron); the Eclipse development environment.
For further information on the course and syllabus, you may wish to click here.