Teaching second-level Java and software engineering with Android

Abstract

Over the past two years, second-year Java and software engineering courses have been taught at the University of Virginia and North Carolina State University utilizing the Android OS platform. Instructors taught a variety of traditional second-year topics, including abstraction, design, requirements, and testing, utilizing a variety of Android-based mobile devices. Anecdotal responses from student surveys and evaluations from five course sessions indicate that teaching lower-level courses with more advanced and current technology, even with a steeper learning curve, is beneficial. In this tutorial proposal, we outline our plan for presenting a session that would help educators incorporate the Android OS into their curriculum and how to use the system even if mobile devices are not available.