Sadly, this just wasn't as good as Java for Android Coursera class (also done by Duke University). You spend a lot of time figuring out how to implement the concepts that are introduced. For example, with intents, they mention explicit and implicit and spend a lot of time on implicit as that can be mentally challenging. When you get to the homework part where you are doing explicit intents, you have no idea where to start. I'll be taking the local community college class on this topic so I can actually do this stuff rather than having a manager's overview of what these are for rather than the actually process doing them.

Also, there are several items that are incorporated into the class with no explanation. Perhaps including another introductory module to cover Toasts and Lambda might be useful.

I would really like this to be better. It makes me glad I didn't pay for the whole certification track.

Very good at explaining and showing the high-level information.

Terrible at showing how to implement at the code level.

Their assignments are thankfully optional, as they are all out of date, filled with typos, and have vague instructions. I suggest reading the Android official guides on activities, intents and their documentation to complete these assignment and get a good idea how to actually do them. Also check out other tutorials for more thorough teaching on the code level information.

This is a poorly structured course compared to the awesome first MOOC in this specialization. The first assignment, for example, arrives well before students are equipped to handle it. I would advise not attempting this MOOC until you've gotten a handle on these topics elsewhere first.

not a fan

There is no evaluation in this class. I prefer classes with programming assignments that are machine unit tested on the server. It's possible to just take a quiz twice, and get 100% without knowing anything.