Android Application Development: An Overview

Mobile app development is one of the biggest new industries of the last decade. As of 2017, Google and Apple (the creators of Android and iOS, respectively) confirmed a combined total of over 3 billion devices around the globe using their mobile operating systems. The capabilities and built-in sensors on modern smartphones also provide a new avenue to collect data or engage with participants in a non-invasive manner. It might seem intimidating to write a mobile app for the first time, but the process is similar to writing software for a desktop computer, which in itself isn’t as hard as you might think!

We will present a brief overview on developing Android apps, the differences between Android and iOS development, and provide quick demonstrations on how you can use a variety of available programming environments and languages to create an app. A basic familiarity with computer programming is recommended to get the most out of the seminar. This is not a in-depth workshop with the intention to have its participants program code alongside the presentation, but meant to introduce available options for them to consider and to answer questions on the topic. Separate “hands-on” workshops will be provided later in the academic year based on audience feedback.