Posted by Peter Lubbers, Senior Program Manager, Google Developer Training
In January, as a part of Grow with Google’s ongoing commitment to create economic opportunities for Americans, the Google Developer Scholarship Challenge—hosted in partnership with Udacity—awarded nearly 50,000 scholarships to aspiring developers from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels.
In April, the 5,000 top performers in the Scholarship Challenge earned scholarships for a full Udacity Nanodegree program. These scholars come from every part of the United States, range in age from the late teens to the late sixties, and vary in experience from beginning to advanced. Despite these differences, they share a desire to strengthen their web and Android development skills, and to grow professionally.
Together, they’ve created nearly 18,000 web and Android apps, and exchanged over 2 million messages on the support channels. Students all across the country have reported new jobs, career advancement, and engagement in community programs as a result of their scholarships.
We’d share every story if we could, as they’re all remarkable. But today, we introduce you to five scholars in particular. Because of their hard work, and what they’ve made of the scholarship opportunity, their lives and careers have changed in dramatic ways. Let’s meet them now.
Kansas City, MO
From Missouri Long-Haul Trucker to Web Developer
Tony Boswell was a long-haul truck driver for 14 years. He covered over 1.5 million miles, drove through almost every state in the US, and hauled everything from fresh produce to crude oil. It was steady work, but it required being away from home 320 days out of every year. Tony told us “My wife was home alone and we were living two entirely separate lives.”
Last year, at age 48, Tony decided he had to make a change. Despite not having any transferable skills or relevant work history, he believed he could become a developer. He applied to the Grow with Google Developer program, and earned the Nanodegree scholarship. It was the right move. Tony completed his Nanodegree program in September, and recently found a full-time position focused on front-end web development. Thanks to the career lessons included in his program, he was able to confidently negotiate a $10,000+ increase in his starting salary offer.
“I am happy to say, thanks to the education, training, and coaching that I received from this program, I have finally completed my transition from the open road and a steering wheel, to accepting the title of Technical Support Specialist — Web Developer. I can truly say that my whole life has changed because of coding.”
Virginia Beach, VA
From Virginia Homemaker to Technology Apprentice
Kimberly McCaffery applied for the Grow with Google scholarship to acquire new skills that would help her transition back to the workforce. She is a mother of four, and has been a military spouse and homemaker for over 20 years. She was motivated to apply because she recognized the need to contribute financially to her family:
“Since 1999, we’ve moved 10 times; in the US and overseas. When we got back to Virginia, I returned to the workforce as a substitute teacher. The W2 I received was my first one this century, but, my total pay was less than $500! As my husband approaches retirement, I knew it would help us all if I could shoulder more of the load.“
After completing her Front-End Nanodegree program earlier this fall, Kimberly got a job as a Technology Apprentice at MAXX Potential in Norfolk, Virginia. “I’m so pleased and proud! It's 10 minutes from the kid's school, very flexible, and full of challenges with IT as a service. And there is plenty of room within the company to grow as fast as I want!”
Glendive, MT
From unemployed to Software Engineer
After being laid off from a job in Pennsylvania, Charles and his family moved back to his wife’s hometown in rural Montana, where he struggled to find work as a freelancer. It was a very difficult time, and his confidence suffered.
“I fell into major depression. When my phone rang, I had panic attacks because it was people asking for money. Job-wise, there was nothing in our small town.”
Charles had applied for, and earned, a Grow with Google Scholarship, but there didn’t seem to be a single place where he could apply his skills. He was desperate, but one interview changed everything for him:
“In June I applied for a job at the local cable company to do cable installation. In August I finally got called in for an interview. Immediately the CEO asked me why I didn’t apply for their programming position. I never actually saw it. Instead of an interview for an installer job it turned into the first of 2 interviews for a programming job. For the 2nd interview, I loaded up my phone with all the apps I had made during the Android Basics program. In the interview I answered all the standard questions but it was when I pulled my phone out and showed off the applications I made in the Nanodegree program, that I could tell that I nailed it.“
Two days later, they called and offered Charles the job.
“I never imagined I’d end up doing a job like this. My first day was on September 24.”
Tularosa, NM
Working with Students to Build an Apache Language App
Anna is a Special Education teacher and STEM program coordinator for a middle school in New Mexico. She has a passion for technology, and applied for the Google Developer Scholarship to gain new knowledge and be more helpful to her students and her community.
Anna lives and works near the Mescalero Apache Tribal lands and is now working with her students to develop an Apache language app.
“Students are collecting Apache words and phrases as raw data for the app, and have been working closely with our Apache Language teacher, who is a member of the tribe. Students are designing artwork for the app and are consulting their elders to make it meaningful for Apache people.”
Anna is also having a school-wide drawing contest for the launching icon. During the STEM meetings, students work with Android Studio—they learn how to change the look of their app with XML, and make it do things with Java. “My students are really motivated by this project!”
Castine, ME
Building A Website for African Widows and Orphans
Lourdes Wellington worked in the information technology field, but in the back of her mind, she harbored a desire to learn software development. She was gearing up to make that transition, when a serious health crisis put a hold on her plans—it was cancer, and survival meant having part of her right arm amputated. Despite the challenge, she was determined to move forward both physically and mentally:
“Losing my arm was a small price to pay considering I did not lose my life. My mental aptitude became stronger and I began to consider how I wanted to move forward in the future with my life.”
Lourdes successfully applied for the Grow with Google scholarship, and with the new skills she learned in her Front-End Nanodegree program, she went looking for a meaningful way to make an impact. She learned about an organization that benefits African widows and orphans, and decided to get involved. She created a website to help increase visibility for the organization, calling attention to their efforts to raise funds so a fish hatchery and fish ponds can be constructed to feed small villages.
“Taking programming classes with Udacity for website development has motivated me to create even more websites for charity.”
It has been an honor and a pleasure to play a small part in the remarkable journeys each of these scholarship students has undertaken since we first met them back in January. We look forward to seeing how each and every graduate puts their new skills to work to advance their lives, their careers, and the world around them!
Grow with Google in partnership with Udacity, is awarding 5,000 Nanodegree program scholarships to help aspiring developers in the US continue their digital skills training and prepare for jobs as Android or Mobile Web developers.
As part of the Grow with Google Developer Scholarship program, scholars completed an initial challenge course at Udacity - completing on average over 100 hours of coursework, building coding project portfolios and engaging with their local developer community. Today, Google and Udacity are excited to recognize the 5,000 top performers in the challenge course, and offer them a chance to continue their training through a Nanodegree program with a full scholarship.
By successfully completing a Nanodegree program, scholars earn an industry-recognized credential helping to create a path for increased job opportunities as well as prepare for one of Google's Developer Certifications: Associate Android Developer or Mobile Web Specialist. These developer training programs offer scholars the opportunity to build their skills and become job-ready, helping to close the gap in the more than 500,000 open computing jobs in the US.
We are incredibly inspired by the hard work and passion shown by all our Grow with Google developer scholars -- including these stellar scholars:
Bela from Tennessee, a mother of two working toward her goal of becoming a web developer. Bela recently shared her personal story of determination to complete her developer training.
Desmend from Illinois, who is taking what he learns in his Android developer course and sharing it with local high school students that he mentors -- teaching them about technology and the type of career opportunities offered to developers.
Sean from Alabama, a veteran using his course training to transition into the civilian workforce as an Android developer.
And Demetra from New York, who utilized the online training and forums to achieve her goal of advancing her skills in web development.
This scholarship effort is part of the Grow with Google initiative, which is aimed at helping create economic opportunities for Americans by offering free tools, training, and events. Udacity is excited to partner with Google on this powerful effort and together we look forward to seeing what these scholars will achieve in the coming year.
The Grow with Google Developer Scholarship—a US-focused program offering learning opportunities to tens of thousands of aspiring developers—has given rise to a wealth of powerful stories from amazing individuals who are using their scholarships to pursue their goals and achieve their dreams. Some are creating new beginnings in new places. Others are reinventing their paths and transforming their futures. Still others are advancing their careers and growing their businesses.
Rei Blanco, Paul Koutroulakis, and Mary Weidner exemplify what the scholarship program is all about.
Rei Blanco immigrated to Lansing, Michigan from Cuba seven years ago. He began learning English, and found opportunities to practice his skills in jobs ranging from housekeeping to customer support. Today, as a Grow with Google Developer Sscholarship recipient, he is learning a whole new language—Javascript—as well as HTML and CSS. Rei earned himself a spot as a student in the Front-End Web Developer challenge course, and is now fully-immersed, and loving every part of his journey to becoming a developer.
"When I get home, I immediately go to the basement and start coding!"
Rei studies several hours every night. He credits his partner for the non-stop encouragement she gives him. He embraces a daily workout routine that keeps him focused and energized. He also praises the student community for helping him to advance successfully through the program.
"The live help channel in our Slack workspace is great. Once you get stuck, you get immediate help or you can help out others."
As his skills grow, so does his confidence. A year ago, when he first began taking online coding courses, he felt out of place attending a local developer meetup. These days, he's a busy member of a student group working on outside projects, and has plans to attend many more in-person events. Rei is taking his developer career step-by-step—he's bolstering his chances of earning freelance work by steadily adding new projects to his portfolio, and has his sights set on a full-time job in front-end web development.
Paul Koutroulakis was a 20-year restaurant industry success story. For 10 of those years, he even owned his own establishment. But like it was for so many others, 2008 was a terrible year. Sales dropped, and the burden became too great. Paul lost his restaurant, and ultimately, his home.
Despite the hardships, Paul retained the spirit that had made him a success in the first place, and he was determined to persevere. But he also saw the writing on the wall, and knew he needed to make a change.
"This was a wakeup call with my resume. I didn't want to be an old man managing a restaurant."
From his research, he learned that demand for web developers was growing rapidly, and he recognized the opportunity he was looking for. From that moment forward, Paul focused his energy on becoming a developer.
He worked daytime hours at a logistics company, and started taking computer programming classes at night at a local technical college. Paul earned his associates degree, but he wasn't done. He felt the pressure to go the extra mile, and made the commitment to do so by competing for, and ultimately earning, a Grow with Google Developer Sscholarship.
"I need to make myself more marketable. I would like to show that age doesn't matter and that anyone can make a great contribution to a company or field if they are passionate about learning."
Today, Paul is focused on building a project portfolio, and wants to land a job as an entry-level web developer. His long-term goal is to enter the field of cybersecurity. Despite the hard work and long hours, he's excited by the skills he's learning, and by the transformation he's undergone. Best of all, he knows it's all worth it.
"Even if it's a late night of studying, it's better than coming home at one or two in the morning after a long shift at the restaurant."
Mary Weidner's degree was in finance, and after graduating, she went right into the field, spending several years in a series of finance-related roles. Simultaneously, she was nurturing an interest in coding, even going so far as to take a few free online courses. Everything changed for her when a friend asked her to join him as co-founder for a fitness app he was developing. She was intrigued, and agreed to take the leap. As one-half of a two-person team, she found herself immediately supporting all aspects of the fledgling operation, from launching the database, to filming videos.
Mary's hobbyist-level interest in coding transformed into a primary focus, as she realized early on that building her tech skills would significantly enhance her ability to grow the business. But there was more than just operational necessity at work—Mary recognized she was facing an additional set of challenges.
"Not only do I want to learn how to code in order to help my company, I also want to be more respected in the industry. Being a woman and a non-technical co-founder is not the easiest place to be in tech."
As a Grow with Google Developer Sscholarship recipient, Mary is now engaged in an intensive learning program, and her skills are accelerating accordingly.
Strongr Fastr officially launched in January 2018, and has already been downloaded by thousands of users, boasting a user rating of 4.7 stars. It's an impressive start, but neither Mary nor her partner are resting on their laurels. They're motivated to grow and improve, and are focused on "finding traction channels that work, and trying to find that scalable groove."
Despite her head-down determination and focus, Mary's approach to learning is a spirited one, and she's enjoying every minute of her big leap forward.
"I'm loving it. It's really cool to have apps on my phone that I've made, even if they're the most simple thing. It's very empowering and just ... cool!"
Grow with Google is a new initiative to help people get the skills they need to find a job. Udacity is excited to partner with Google on this powerful effort, and to offer the Ddeveloper Sscholarship program.
Grow with Google Developer scholars come from different backgrounds, live in different cities, and are pursuing different goals in the midst of different circumstances, but they are united by their efforts to advance their lives and careers through hard work, and a commitment to self-empowerment through learning. We're honored to support their efforts, and to share the stories of scholars like Rei, Paul, and Mary.
Last month, we announced the 50,000 Grow with Google scholarship challenge in partnership with Udacity. And today, we want to remind you to apply for the programs before the application window closes on November 30th.
In case you missed the announcement details, the Google-Udacity curriculum was created to help developers get the training they need to enter the workforce as Android or mobile web developers. Whether you're an experienced programmer looking for a career-change or a novice looking for a start, the courses and the Nanodegree programs are built with your career-goals in mind and prepare you for Google's Associate Android Developer and Mobile Web Specialist developer certifications.
The scholarship challenge is an exciting chance to learn valuable skills to launch or advance your career as a mobile or web developer. The program leverages world-class curriculum, developed by experts from Google and Udacity. These courses are completely free, and as a reminder the top 5,000 students at the end of the challenge will earn a full Nanodegree scholarship to one of the four Nanodegree programs in Android or web development.
To learn more visit udacity.com/grow-with-google and submit your application before the scholarship window closes!
The community of women in tech is growing in numbers and influence, which we witnessed firsthand just last week at Google I/O, Google's biggest developer conference of the year. Our total attendees were 25% women, thanks in large part to creating a number of cross-industry partnerships supporting women developer communities. 25% of the speakers were women as well.
We know working together as a community is key to supporting women in tech. To that end, we are excited to announce a new collaborative resource. Women Techmakers is launching a new scholarship for women in tech around the world to increase their skills through enrolling in an online technical degree - the Women Techmakers Udacity Scholarship. Women Techmakers, Google's global program for women in technology, provides visibility, community and resources for women and allies around the world. Women Techmakers has partnered with Udacity, one of the world's leading online training platforms, as Udacity's flagship partner for women in technology to provide this scholarship to women across experience levels and geographies.
This new scholarship provides the opportunity for women to earn online certification in Android Basics , Android Developer, Front-End Web Developer and Full-Stack Developer, all courses co-designed by Google experts, and includes opportunities for women at multiple skill levels. Benefits include special access to a community of Googlers and a cross-cohort global online community. Upon completion of the Nanodegree within one year, scholars will receive certification from Udacity, a certificate of completion from Women Techmakers, a resume review by a Googler, and more.
This scholarship is the newest offering in a portfolio of Women Techmakers programs to support women and allies globally, including Membership for curated, personalized professional support, our video series and guides on building inclusive tech hubs, and our Scholars program, which provides funding and support for university women studying computer science.
Click here to learn more and apply by June 9th, 2017.
Posted by Jocelyn Becker, Senior Program Manager, Android Training
As one of our most popular Udacity courses, the Developing Android Apps course was recently updated to ensure developers have the resources to build high quality apps. This course, which has already helped more than half a million developers learn to build Android apps, has been through the car wash and come out sparkling clean and updated.
Google and Udacity have worked together to update the course to include the very latest changes in Android and Android Studio, including how to use the new Constraint Layout editor, and how to use Firebase Job Dispatcher. Learn best practices for building Android apps using Android 7.0 (Nougat) while keeping your apps backwards compatible in older versions, learning at your own pace in your own time.
You sent us feedback that some of the lessons were a little difficult to get through, so we've restructured the lessons and added smaller apps for you to build as you progress through the course. So not only will you build the Sunshine weather app as a complete, integrated application that spans the entire course, but you'll also create an app in each lesson to help you learn individual concepts.
Combined package for Developing Android Apps course and Associate Android Developer Certification
This updated course teaches the skills that are tested by the Associate Android Developer certification exam. Udacity is offering a package that combines the updated Developing Android Apps course with a voucher for the Associate Android Developer certification exam. If you pass this exam, you will earn the Associate Android Developer Certification and show that you are competent and skilled in tasks that an entry-level Android developer typically performs. Enroll in Udacity's Fast Track to get prepared and take the Associate Android developer exam at: https://www.udacity.com/course/nd818.
Posted by Francis Ma, Firebase Product Manager
Originally posted to the Firebase blog
Our goal with Firebase is to help developers build better apps and grow them into successful businesses. Six months ago at Google I/O, we took our well-loved backend-as-a-service (BaaS) and expanded it to 15 features to make it Google’s unified app development platform, available across iOS, Android, and the web.
We launched many new features at Google I/O, but our work didn’t stop there. Since then, we’ve learned a lot from you (750,000+ projects created on Firebase to date!) about how you’re using our platform and how we can improve it. Thanks to your feedback, today we’re launching a number of enhancements to Crash Reporting, Analytics, support for game developers and more. For more information on our announcements, tune in to the livestream video from Firebase Dev Summit in Berlin. They’re also listed here:
Often the hardest part about fixing an issue is reproducing it, so we’ve added rich context to each crash to make the process simple. Firebase Crash Reporting now shows Firebase Analytics event data in the logs for each crash. This gives you clarity into the state of your app leading up to an error. Things like which screens of your app were visited are automatically logged with no instrumentation code required. Crash logs will also display any custom events and parameters you explicitly log using Firebase Analytics. Firebase Crash Reporting works for both iOS and Android apps.
Glide, a popular live video messaging app, relies on Firebase Crash Reporting to ensure user quality and release agility. “No matter how much effort you put into testing, it will never be as thorough as millions of active users in different locations, experiencing a variety of network conditions and real life situations. Firebase allows us to rapidly gain trust in our new version during phased release, as well as accelerate the process of identifying core issues and providing quick solutions.” - Roi Ginat, Founder, Glide.
We want to help you deliver high-quality experiences, so testing your app before it goes into the wild is incredibly important. Firebase Test Lab allows you to easily test your app on many physical and virtual devices in the cloud, without writing a single line of test code. Beginning today, developers on the Spark service tier (which is free!) can run five tests per day on physical devices and ten tests per day on virtual devices—with no credit card setup required. We’ve also heard that you want more device options, so we’ve added 11 new popular Android device models to Test Lab, available today.
We know that your data is most actionable when you can see and process it as quickly as possible. Therefore, we’re announcing a number of features to help you maximize the potential of your analytics events:
We were happy to give you a sneak preview at the Firebase Dev Summit of a new feature we are now building, StreamView, which will offer a live, dynamic view of your analytics data as it streams in.
To further enhance your targeting options, we’ve improved the connection between Firebase Analytics and other Firebase features, such as Dynamic Links and Remote Config. For example, you can now use Dynamic Links on your Facebook business page, and we can identify Facebook as a source in Firebase Analytics reporting. Also, you can now target Remote Config changes by User Properties, in addition to Audiences.
Game developers are building great apps, and we want Firebase to work for you, too. We’ve built an entirely new plugin for Unity that supports Analytics, the Realtime Database, Authentication, Dynamic Links, Remote Config, Notifications and more. We've also expanded our C++ SDK with Realtime Database support.
FirebaseUI is a library that provides common UI elements when building apps, and it’s a quick way to integrate with Firebase. FirebaseUI 1.0 includes a drop-in UI flow for Firebase Authentication, with common identity providers such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter. FirebaseUI 1.0 also added features such as client-side joins and intersections for the Realtime Database, plus integrations with Glide and SDWebImage that make downloading and displaying images from Firebase Storage a cinch. Follow our progress or contribute to our Android, iOS, and Web components on Github.
We want to provide the best tool for developers, but it’s also important that we give resources and training to help you get more out of the platform. As such, we’ve created a new Udacity course: Firebase in a Weekend! It’s an instructor-led video course to help all developers get up and running with Firebase on iOS and Android, in two days.
Finally, to help wrap your head around all our announcements, we’ve created a new demo app. This is an easy way to see how Analytics, Crash Reporting, Test Lab, Notifications, and Remote Config work in a live environment, without having to write a line of code.
Helping developers build better apps and successful businesses is at the core of Firebase. We work hard on it every day. We love hearing your feedback and ideas for new features and improvements—and we hope you can see from the length of this post that we take them to heart! Follow us on Twitter, join our Slack channel, participate in our Google Group, and let us know what you think. We’re excited to see what you’ll build next!
Posted by Shanea King-Roberson, Lead Program Manager Twitter: @shaneakr Instagram: @theshanea
Do you have an idea for an app but you don’t know where to start? There are over 1 billion Android devices worldwide, providing a way for you to deliver your ideas to the right people at the right time. Google, in partnership with Udacity, is making Android development accessible and understandable to everyone, so that regardless of your background, you can learn to build apps that improve the lives of people around you.
Enroll in the new Android Basics Nanodegree. This series of courses and services teaches you how to build simple Android apps--even if you have little or no programming experience. Take a look at some of the apps built by our students:
The app "ROP Tutorial" built by student Arpy Vanyan raises awareness of a potentially blinding eye disorder called Retinopathy of Prematurity that can affect newborn babies.
And user Charles Tommo created an app called “Dr Malaria” that teaches people ways to prevent malaria.
With courses designed by Google, you can learn skills that are applicable to building apps that solve real world problems. You can learn at your own pace to use Android Studio (Google’s official tool for Android app development) to design app user interfaces and implement user interactions using the Java programming language.
The courses walk you through step-by-step on how to build an order form for a coffee shop, an app to track pets in a shelter, an app that teaches vocabulary words from the Native American Miwok tribe, and an app on recent earthquakes in the world. At the end of the course, you will have an entire portfolio of apps to share with your friends and family.
Upon completing the Android Basics Nanodegree, you also have the opportunity to continue your learning with the Career-track Android Nanodegree (for intermediate developers). The first 50 participants to finish the Android Basics Nanodegree have a chance to win a scholarship for the Career-track Android Nanodegree. Please visit udacity.com/legal/scholarship for additional details and eligibility requirements. You now have a complete learning path to help you become a technology entrepreneur or most importantly, build very cool Android apps, for yourself, your communities, and even the world.
All of the individual courses that make up this Nanodegree are available online for no charge at udacity.com/google. In addition, Udacity provides paid services, including access to coaches, guidance on your project, help staying on track, career counseling, and a certificate upon completion for a fee.
You will be exposed to introductory computer science concepts in the Java programming language, as you learn the following skills.
To enroll in the Android Basics Nanodegree program, click here.
See you in class!
Posted by Paul Bakaus, Web Developer Advocate at Google
There’s a lot to learn when you start to become a web developer. What’s often forgotten though is that the best web developers don’t just know the right JavaScript APIs and frameworks and the mysteries of CSS, but have access to a myriad of tools that dramatically increase their every-day productivity.
In the recently launched Web Tooling & Automation course at Udacity, we’re giving you access to information that most other developers have been learning gradually on the side, so you can kickstart your developer life.
Regardless of whether you’re just beginning your career or whether you want to refresh your picture of the productivity tools landscape, head over to Udacity to learn about setting up your editor, creating powerful build scripts, live editing, linting and all other sorts of awesome optimizations.
Originally posted on Google Research Blog
Almost three years ago we shipped our very first Udacity course about HTML5 Game Development. Today marks a milestone that we proudly want to share with the world. The 1 millionth person has enrolled in our Google Developer Training courses. Was it you?
This milestone is more than just a number. Thanks to our partnership with Udacity, this training gives developers access to skills that empower families, communities, and the future.
One million developers around the world have made a commitment to learn a new language, expand their craft, start a new business, completely shift careers and more. So, here's to the next million people who are excited about using technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
Keep learning!
Sarah Clark, Program Manager, Google Developer Training
Front-end web developers face challenges when using common “asynchronous” requests. These requests, such as fetching a URL or reading a file, often lead to complicated code, especially when performing multiple actions in a row. How can we make this easier for developers?
Javascript Promises are a new tool that simplifies asynchronous code, converting a tangle of callbacks and event handlers into simple, straightforward code such as: fetch(url).then(decodeJSON).then(addToPage)...
fetch(url).then(decodeJSON).then(addToPage)...
Promises are used by many new web standards, including Service Worker, the Fetch API, Quota Management, Font Load Events,Web MIDI, and Streams.
We’ve just opened up a online course on Promises, built in collaboration with Udacity. This brief course, which you can finish in about a day, walks you through building an “Exoplanet Explorer” app that reads and displays live data using Promises. You’ll also learn to use the Fetch API and finally kiss XMLHttpRequest goodbye!
This short course is a prerequisite for most of the Senior Web Developer Nanodegree. Whether you are in the paid Nanodegree program or taking the course for free, won’t you come learn to make your code simpler and more reliable today?
Posted by Sarah Clark, Program Manager, Google Developer Training
What do you need to stand out from the crowd of web developers, and ultimately, land that perfect job?
We asked ourselves that same question and decided to help by introducing the Senior Web Developer Nanodegree. Built in collaboration with Udacity, this online program is designed to teach you the tools, frameworks, and techniques needed to write robust code for progressive web applications that are secure and easy to use. Spending about 10 hours a week, most students can earn this Nanodegree credential in 9-12 months at a cost of $200 per month with 50% returned upon completion.
Along the way, you will also learn how to integrate new technologies, such as Service Worker and Web Components, and work extensively with Gulp and other tools. You’ll hear from Google experts, such as Ido Green, Jake Archibald (co-author of the Service Worker spec), Luke Wroblewski (author and strategist), Paul Bakaus (Studio 5 CTO, Zynga) and Alice Boxhall (author of the Chrome accessibility developer tools).
How can you get started? There are two different ways to participate. One option is the paid Nanodegree program, which includes code-level project reviews and feedback, coaching, support from a cohort of peers, building a portfolio of work, and career support services. The second option is entirely free and includes the same instructional courses, quizzes and projects individually, which you can take at your own pace.
For more details, and to be notified when enrollment opens, check out udacity.com/googlewebdev.
Posted by Shanea King-Roberson, Program Manager
As a developer, writing your app is important. But even more important is getting it into the hands of users. Ideally millions of users. To that end, you can now learn what it takes to design, validate, prototype, monetize, and market app ideas from the ground up and grow them into a scalable business with the new Tech Entrepreneur Nanodegree.
Designed by Google in partnership with Udacity, the Tech Entrepreneur Nanodegree, takes 4-7 months to complete. We have teamed up with most successful thought leaders in this space to provide students with a unique and battle-tested perspective. You’ll meet Geoffrey Moore, author of “Crossing the Chasm”, Pete Koomen, co-founder of Optimizely; Aaron Harris and Kevin Hale, Partners at Y-Combinator; Nir Eyal, author of the book “Hooked: How to build habit forming products” and co-founder of Product Hunt; Steve Chen, Co-Founder of YouTube, rapid prototyping company InVision and many more.
All of the content that make up this nanodegree is available online for free at udacity.com/google. In addition, Udacity provides paid services, including access to coaches, guidance on your project, help staying on track, career counseling, and a certificate when you complete the nanodegree.
The Tech Entrepreneur offering will consist of the following courses:
Upon completion, students will receive a joint certificate from Udacity and Google. The top graduates will also be invited to an exclusive pitch event, where they will have the opportunity to pitch their final product to venture capitalists at Google.
Posted by Jason Titus, Senior Director of Engineering
This morning, we kicked off our 8th annual Google I/O conference, joined by 5,600 developers at Moscone Center, 530 I/O Extended communities around the world, and millions via the I/O Live stream. This year’s event is focused on delivering incredible experiences on mobile and helping developers build successful businesses through these key themes: Develop, Engage, and Earn.
During the keynote, we had a number of announcements that covered the evolution of the mobile platform, tools for Android, iOS, and Web developers, and the push towards more immersive mobile experiences with VR. Here’s a closer look at the news:
