The Internet is arguably the best invention by mankind. It has changed the way we intake and interact with information. Revolutionizing education, business, commerce, art, and health, the Internet has left an enormous footprint over various aspects of our lives. One such aspect is education. The Internet is jam-packed with great educational resources. No matter what subject you’re interested in, reservoirs of great and quality information are just a few clicks away. There are tons of trustworthy and top notch universities that are making their lectures and study materials freely available on the web for anyone and everyone.
In the last few months we have seen many personalities come out to encourage people to learn to code. From the founder and CEO of the social juggernaut Facebook, to the founder of Microsoft, to will.i.am, and even to the President of the United States of America, everyone wants you to learn to code. And so, if you have thought of learning how to code this summer break, here is a list of some of the most useful resources for you to learn Android and iOS coding.
Lynda
One of the most commendable of names among online learning resources, Lynda.com doesn’t really need an introduction. It offers hundreds of thousands of courses on a wide range of subjects. There are plenty of courses for Android and iOS development too. However, the courses aren’t free. You will have to shell out $25 a month to enjoy all its video tutorials.
Harvard University
Instructed by David J Malan, the E-76 course, which is available for free on the Web as part of Harvard’s Open Courseware, teaches students how to build mobile apps for iOS and Android ecosystems. Students will learn how to build native apps using various SDKs. The course provides study material, all the video lectures can be viewed and downloaded for free, and there is a Google Group to interact with faculties and other students. it is also available on iTunes.
Treehouse
Another interesting name in online learning is Treehouse. It offers several courses on Android and iOS development. There’s a basic course on Android which will teach you how to build Android apps. You will also be taught how to make blog reader apps, and self-destructible messages. The beginner course on iOS will teach you to build iOS apps, a photo browsing app, and how to implement design and other aspects to it.
Stanford University
Stanford also runs open courseware and provides several course materials for free. For iOS app development the university has a course called “CS 193P iPhone Application Development.” It has made its last 4 years’ lectures available there. In the course you’ll be taught things from scratch – overview of iOS, Objective C to adding alerts and core locations to the apps.
Similarly, there is one Android Programming course too. It’s called CS193a, and it walks through several aspects of Android app development. From understanding intent and animations to managing notifications, to certifying the final APKs, the course has got a lot of things covered.
Stanford also offers a course that revolves around Web technologies and mobile applications that you may find interesting, Developing Mobile applications by Web Technologies. All the videos are available on YouTube for free.
The New Boston
If you have ever searched for any programming tutorials on YouTube, odds are you have seen his video tutorials, possibly even unknowingly. The New Boston has plenty of programming tutorials available on YouTube for free. Run by Bucky Roberts, The New Boston channel on YouTube offers one comprehensive course on Android. Similarly, there is an iPhone apps development course too.
Coursera
In addition, you can also check for courses on Coursera. It has linked up with several reputable colleges from all across the globe to bring some of the best available free content. There are plenty of Android apps development courses available there.
TutsPlus
Much like Lynda, TutsPlus has also made its name in the digital woods for its quality education. Although it does have a few things on iOS, including courses on the new iOS 7, its Android development section is more of a WordPress extension than a tutorial on Android app development.
Google Android Development
Google itself provides a course on learning Android app development. However, this is an advanced course. Once you think you’ve covered the basics, you can try out Android App Development Training by Google for Developers. Again, the program doesn’t teach coding from scratch, but expects you to have a prior knowledge of basic coding. Through the course, you’ll be taught how to add an action bar to your app, manage the activity lifecycle, support an array of devices etc.
Noteworthy mention
In addition, you can explore OpenCourseware websites and discover many more tutorials.
While our list ends here, there are certainly tons of more useful resources available on the Web. Did you take an online course recently that was great and would like to recommend it to others? Let us know via the comments section below.