Three years ago I purchased my first Android smartphone--the LG P999. I was already invested in the Google ecosystem through gmail, Google calendar, and Google voice. One of my biggest reason for choosing the phone was because it said "with Google" on the back. The phone was impressive for it's time; it holds the world record for the first dual core smartphone. Thus began my exploring with Android.
Android is an operating system developed by Google that runs on smartphones, tablets and now watches and TVs. Being somewhat technically minded I started to tinker with and learn about how Android works. I soon found out about rooting your phone from xda-developers, an Android development site.
Android is like a tree. There are trunks and branches above the surface that you can trim and customize like the wallpaper or what applications you have installed. But below that there is the roots--the system files and operating system code that governs all aspect of the phone. Rooting an Android phone allows you to change the system files and opens a lot of possibilities for customizing your experience.
Android is an open platform. Google publishes the code and allows people to manipulate it and create their own versions of it. Cyanogenmod is one of those custom versions of Android. It adds a lot of customization and performance improvements over stock Android. It also enables you to install different releases of Android without waiting for your carrier to push them to your phone. Both Android devices I own run Cyanogenmod.
I had had that same Android phone for 2.5 years when I went swimming with it--I forgot it was in my pocket. I learned a lot about the operating system as I tinkered, broke, fixed and re tinkered with it. I still have it for sentimental reasons and have repaired it so that it turns on but doesn't get a cellular signal and the speaker does not work. I now own a Nexus 5 and love what it can do.
I think mobile is the future of technology and will dramatically impact education; knowing how to develop the applications that run on mobile devices will be a key skill to have. Being both religiously and technologically minded, I have daily interaction with the LDS Gospel Application. It has tremendously enhanced my gospel study. I joined the beta testing community about a year ago and have given feedback and suggestions to the main developer of the app. Seeing a feature of the app that I suggested being implemented is strong positive reinforcement. I wish I could help with the code rather than just making suggestions. I also have some ideas of an application I would like to develop for seminary student use in my classroom which is the end goal of this venture.
A current assignment for my Learning Theory class for my master's degree at Utah State University is to blog about learning something. I first heard about this Coursera class on mobile applications for the Android platform in January and almost took it then. I am glad I waited so I could have it be my learning project. The Coursera class starts on September 26--6 days away--I am excited and ready to go!
A current assignment for my Learning Theory class for my master's degree at Utah State University is to blog about learning something. I first heard about this Coursera class on mobile applications for the Android platform in January and almost took it then. I am glad I waited so I could have it be my learning project. The Coursera class starts on September 26--6 days away--I am excited and ready to go!
