If you ask digital directors at leading organizations what the next evolutionary step is for the Internet, they probably don't actually talk about the Web. Instead, they most likely talk about applications and devices. They also probably say that app developers are becoming worth their weight in gold.
That is certainly the case with Cameron Clayton, president of the digital group at The Weather Channel in Atlanta. The Weather Channel has the second most downloaded app on the iPad and the fifth most downloaded app on the iPhone. Clayton obviously knows the demand for mobile application development -- and developers.
"Looking out five years, I see increasing traffic on mobile devices, and for most companies, that probably means hiring more developers," Clayton told us. "But we're already not even close to having enough people to do the work." This demand is already making application developers among the highest-paid information technology professionals in many companies -- and deservedly so, according to Clayton.
He advises college students who want to be in high demand (and cash big paychecks) to concentrate on app development now. "If you want to earn $100,000 your first year out of school, become an applications developer for the Android or iOS. There is a real shortage of talent in the marketplace for people that can code for these devices."
Steve Nelson, technology director for the Oregon Virtual Schools, can confirm the growing demand for mobile devices and apps. Two years ago, the Oregon public school system became the largest test bed for Google Docs and Google Apps; the entire state adopted the Google Docs platform for digital education delivery.
"The Oregon Virtual Schools provide online learning applications, digital content, and digital courses," Nelson told us. Google provided its Google Docs and Google Apps technologies to all local school districts in the state, and it provided training for IT personnel and teachers. So far, 122 of 197 school districts have made the move to Google Docs. As part of this effort, students are given their own Gmail accounts, student portfolios on the cloud-based system, and mobile devices to access course work anywhere at any time.
As to the future of the Internet, it's not as much about the Net as it is about instant messaging and text messaging in mobile applications. I watch students and how they communicate. They don't want to talk on the phone so much anymore as much as they want to be able to text. Eventually, you'll see students taking tests on handheld devices.
This move to the 1:1 environment, as it is known in public education, is gaining popularity across the country. More school districts are embracing mobile devices as the preferred delivery device for the classroom. Even in districts that can't afford to purchase a lot of mobile devices for several classrooms, the new trend is to bring your own device.
Clearly, we are pumping a lot of new mobile consumers into the pipeline. More students will access and share their work via tablets and smartphones. Business travelers are increasingly leaving the laptop at home and opting for the tablet and smartphone. Put any number of people in a room for any length of time, and the odds are you'll find half of them on their Android or iPhone immediately, looking for entertainment, information, or companionship. Consumers are seeking apps to do virtually everything. We're almost there now.
Clayton and his friends recently had a friendly competition to see how long it would take to find a topic or function for which they couldn't find an app of any kind. "It took us two hours."
— David Weldon is an experienced editor, writer, and research analyst with more than 30 years of experience in the communications and research fields.
No doubt the technology is going to increase at very fast rate in coming years. The fact that it will help the students and create opportunities for them is also very encouraging.students from now can focus on either one tool or multi task and prepare for the upcoming challenges in mobile application development. Everyone has smart phones and thus the need for applications will only increSe in coming years.
Most people i know are opting to learn application development in android since its open source and people can test their apps. However for apple you have to make an account and get the approval before making any app. Thats what i am aware of, correct me if i am wrong? Also with time the question that if apple will be more popular or android is also going to help people choose which development tool to learn and opt for.
However, one my XNA developer friends recently attend a course with a top HTML 5 developer, and from what he says it was quite the disheartening experience.
He went into it with high hopes due to all the hype, but what he found was that mostly it is still a nightmare to get complex apps, e.g. games, working, due to all the competing formats and inherent resource limitations.
He said each phase of the lecture, the expert instructor would sigh and would say something along the lines of, "ah graphics... if we can JUST get graphics working, everything else should be easier".
Sprite sheets must be small, file formats are limited, there are strict limitations on fps and number of rendered objects.
When it came to sound (as my friend's account went), he basically threw his hands up and said -- "There are too many competing formats -- just do yourself a favor and use Flash."
Certainly for say an app to order Pizzas, HTML5 might be a good fit, but for games -- one of the most common times of mobile apps -- or photo editing (another very common kind of mobile app) -- or anything else graphics/sound intensive it sounds like HTML 5 has a long, long way to go before being a mobile API killer.
Mobile and desktop have changed places. Now it's mobile devices -- smartphones, iPads, and other tablets -- that are mainstream, and the desktop computer has become a niche product. And it's getting nichier.
i agree, the fact that mobile devices are more handy and can be carried easily around is a great factor for eliminating desktops slowly slowly from schools and organizations. Also at home one is more comfortable using a tablet rather than a pc . as it is mentioned in the article that bring your own devices should also be encouraged in schools now, it will help those students in future to adjust in workplacea that have the same policy and rules.
Well, 2 years ago, mobile apps were not that popular, so if some students asked specialists what should I study to earn enough, I guess, an answer would be different than- you should be an application developer. So, I think in 2 years,there might be too many app developers and a totally different trend, that will need another kind of specialists and I am afraid noone can forecast- which kind of specialists.
A couple of years ago if students wanted to earn more they would rather look towards freelance writing and contributing to editorials. Things today have changed with the increasing demand of mobile apps. Today, students can easily develop apps and sell them on online marketplaces to earn significantly.
that true. however, we can only go further ahead from this point in techonology and not turn back. so if we look ahead of us , we can see analytical tools getting more advanced to cater the business needs and organizational demands , cloud computing getting more famous and proving to be useful in businessess, more development done in IT security to save your data and computer from upcoming bots.
One can choose any field that he is intrested in. The IT field is too vast and hopefully there will be enough opportunities to fullfill everyone's interest and also be beneficial to the society.
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