Today’s post is written by Iulia Marneanu, a Udacity student and volunteer teacher who is progressing with Android education and making the most out of Google Developer Groups.
I have been studying computer science steadily since the age of 15. After getting a technical degree, and then a Master’s, I didn’t know what to do next. I moved back home and started working for a company called Endava as an Android developer. Even though I was working on Android at the time, my knowledge of Android was far from complete.
Shortly after beginning my Master’s in Austria, my parents sent me a smartphone. Believe it or not, I was mad at them for spending that kind of money! At the time, all I used a phone for was calling and occasionally texting. Smartphones were somewhat rare back then, and I believed I really didn’t need one. But once I started using the phone, I realized there was potential in mobile app development. So I enrolled in an Android development course at the Technical University of Graz and quickly joined up with Google Developer Groups. That’s when I discovered the Udacity course Developing Android Apps: Android Fundamentals.
Android Fundamentals seemed like a great option for learning services, certification and other concepts/features I had yet to use. I had taken Udacity courses before and I knew that at the end of this course, it would help with something else: teaching. I volunteer as a computer science teacher and also help organize study jams, which have been very successful.
At first, the course was relatively easy for me as I was already familiar with most of the concepts. Around lesson four or five, things changed. It got challenging and there was a lot to accomplish. And by the end, I completed all the lessons and was able to build an app for myself, a TV series application.
I love watching TV shows but I often forget which specific episode of a show I watched last. So I wanted an app that would tell me what episodes of a series I already watched, and alert me when new episodes were available. It provides color-coded alerts for new episodes that get aired, denoting if you’re up to date or behind schedule in a series. It also provides a graph that depicts how much time you’re spending watching TV. And yes, I realized I was spending too much time in front of my TV—more than 10 hours on the weekends! Needless to say, I cut down my TV time.
Android Fundamentals covers more than the basics of Android, and I feel that ideally students should have a solid knowledge of Java and some development experience. For me, I’ve already started the Android Performance course at Udacity and I’m planning to take another Android course to help me with working with testers. Ultimately I just want to keep learning about Android and keep going! If it time permits, I also want to start a Udacity Nanodegree this month.
I’ve also helped organize two events with Google Developer Groups. With teaching, GDG and Udacity, only good things have come from these experiences: my TV series app is on the way for certification with Google Play. I made new friends and got over my fear of public speaking. Plus, I got to go to Google I/O!
Want to share your Udacity story? We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at social@udacity.com.
