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An app for the teacher

Need to lose weight? Learn beginner Mandarin? Test your sports trivia knowledge?

It seems that for whatever need or fancy you have, there’s a mobile phone app for that.

The demand for smart phone programming is so great that the need for educational courses to teach app-programming skills is also on the rise.

“It’s an exploding industry,” says Tim McCardle, director of the professional skills center at Bryant & Stratton College in Rochester, N.Y. (bryantstratton.edu). “We’re always looking at where the industry is going so we can introduce classes that best prepare our students for in-demand jobs,” he says.

In fact, a quick search for “iOS” (the operating system for mobile devices) on the job search Web site indeed.com returns more than 6,000 positions available for applicants with this skill set. Job titles in this area commonly include iOS application developer, iOS app developer and iOS developer.

A related four-day, intermediate-level intensive certificate course at Bryant & Stratton College, titled iOS capabilities and architecture, costs $2,300 and is aimed at individuals with information technology degrees or a background in programming.

To get the most out of the certificate course, students should have a basic knowledge of object-oriented programming paradigm, C language syntax and model-view-controller pattern.

“This course assumes a certain level of knowledge, since it’s so focused and concentrated,” says McCardle.

Launched this August, the course is designed to teach attendees the iOS language and its extensive programming libraries, as well as give guidelines and best practices on writing iOS applications. It also covers iOS operating system and architecture, object-oriented programming concepts, the anatomy of an iOS application, and understanding how to build and install an application.

Programming iPhone and iPad applications is only one skill participants will gain. Xcode and interface builder tools are also explored, as are memory management, file system and data persistence functions, including SQLite database. The course also addresses advanced iOS features like network connectivity, audio and video capabilities, and social and navigational functions.

“Most major corporations are developing new applications for the iPhone,” says McCardle. Thus, hiring needs are plentiful, and there are myriad entrepreneurial opportunities for those who want to work on their own.

“A person can independently develop an app for the iPad and submit it directly to Apple. Or, he or she might choose to work for a software development firm that specializes in this area,” says McCardle.

At New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (cims.nyu.edu), the school’s iPhone programming course has been heating up, reports Professor Nathan Hull, clinical associate professor of computer science programming languages.

“It’s a hot market,” he says. “I joke that I’m not running an employment agency, but kids from my class are just snapped up by the industry. Some have gone off to work in Silicon Valley…for Apple and other companies. Others are gaining venture capital and starting their own firms.”

What does it take to hit it big in this industry?

“Timing more than anything else — and luck. Now is the time. There’s so much investment capital — a lot of ideas are getting funded. Now’s the time to take your cool idea to the next level,” says Hull.

NYU’s next iPhone programming course will be offered in the spring of 2012 for matriculated students.

At the Computer Learning Center at Pace University’s Seidenberg School in Manhattan (pace.edu/seidenberg), Assistant Dean Dr. Jonathan Hill says students who complete the school’s iOS Programming course are offered jobs very quickly.

“The Web is going mobile; people don’t want to lug laptops around any more. They interact on a smartphone or an iPad. There is a huge opportunity to help businesses transfer their online offerings into the mobile environment,” says Hill.

Both matriculated and non-matriculated students can sign up for the eight-week class, and some full-day and weekend classes are available to accommodate students’ schedules.

The class’ format is project-based. For example, students develop an application for publishing an online book. If they choose to, matriculated students can join Pace’s Web media group, through which they can take on actual application development projects for nonprofits and small businesses in the tri-state region as pro-bono work.

“There’s so much energy right now in this field. For people looking for a career change, or if you just want to get your idea out into the mobile world, you’ll do yourselves a big favor by doing this kind of work,” Hill says.