A multiplatform methodology: developing mobile device applications

When the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the American University of Beirut decided to launch a computing course on mobile computing devices, the author designed a course to meet industry requirements and to introduce students to the major platforms used to build practical applications. He dedicated much of Pervasive Computing Systems and Applications, EECE 679, to teaching mobile device application programming through code demonstrations and in-class application building. The course also covered front-end mobile device technologies and back-end infrastructures. Today, many pervasive computing courses focus on research and theory. Those that do deal with developing mobile applications often limit their coverage to a specific platform. This course covers practical and theoretical pervasive computing, lets students acquire hands-on application-building experience in multiple platforms, and acquaints students with recent developments in related technologies and research. The course includes a mix of lectures, code demonstrations, and student presentations.