Google publishes free and paid Android courses on Udacity

TechExpert

If you want to learn Android programming, you have lots of options. The Internet is full of free resources that promise to teach you the ins and outs of Java and Android programming.

If you are the visual learner, you may find YouTube courses like Derek Banas' Android Development for Beginners the most suitable choice to get started.

Other options include browsing the official Android Developers website, buying Android programming books, or going through tutorials published on other sites.

Google announced today that it has published Android courses on the online learning site Udacity. Some of the courses are free provided that you sign up for a free Udacity account first while others are paid.

android development courses google

Free Courses

  • Android Development for Beginners - A four week course that teaches absolute beginners the basics of Android and Java programming. It is an excellent introductory course to get started.
  • Advanced Android App Development - A six week course that walks you through the process of "productionizing" an application.
  • Android Performance - A four week course that teaches you how to diagnose and correct performance issues.
  • Google Play Services - This four week course teaches you how to access Google APIs such as maps, analytics or location for use in applications.
  • Gradle for Android and Java - The six week course covers the Gradle build tool which you can use to compile and package applications.
  • UX Design for Mobile Developers - A six week course that covers important design techniques focusing on mobile and Android development.

Paid Courses

  • Android Developer Nanodegree - This paid course takes nine to twelve months to complete at a minimum workload of 10 hours per week. It costs $200 per month and requires an intermediate or better proficiency of Java and mobile development. The course has been specifically designed to prepare students for a career in technology.
  • Developing Android apps - A ten week course that costs $199 per month. It is the first course in the Android Developer Nanodegree which provides you with step by step instructions to build a cloud-connected Android app.

Courses not open yet

The beginner course is well done and it even comes with options to download all lessons to the local system so that you can watch them without Internet connection. If you are a complete beginner, you may want to start with that course as it covers basics such as views or layouts, and does not require Android Studio or another programming environment which are often complicated to set up.