The course is called the Android Basics Nanodegree, and is targeted specifically at those who have little or no programming know-how. Points covered include Java, web APIs, SQLite databases, and so on. Of course, apart from that the course will lay the groundwork for building an actual app.
Unfortunately for the bedroom programmers out there the course isn’t free. To the contrary, it costs a cool $200 per month, however it does feature courses from “Google experts” who will also take part in mentoring and coaching participants in the program.
Specifically, the course will cover things like app layouts, multi-screen apps, object-oriented programming, app internet connectivity, and so on. The course in total requires 165 hours of time, or around 5.5 hours per day for a month. Of course, you don’t have to do it in a month’s time — you could do an hour per day for 165 days if you want, however it will obviously end up costing more.
Udacity was founded back in 2011, and is one of a number of companies offering large-scale online courses open to an unlimited number of people. It’s a substantial business, and one that has raised over $160 million in venture-capital funding.
This isn’t the first time that Udacity has partnered with Google either. For a few years now it has offered courses in cloud basics, web performance, and related subjects. The two companies also offered a tech entrepreneur nanodegree and a deep learning nanodegree. To encourage people to sign up, Google has promised to give the first 50 graduates of the Android Basics Nanodegree scholarships to the next step up — the Android Developer Nanodegree.
