I’d like to learn more about mobile development because there’s so much untapped potential when it comes to these portable devices that invite personalized, playful, touchable use. I think the next few years will be tremendously exciting, and I want to learn how to contribute to this future.

Mobile development is intimidatingly complex. Even if I focus only on Android development – and maybe even only on tablets that run Ice Cream Sandwich or later, for example – there’s so much to learn. There are so many possibilities to explore. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.

But I’ve learned about other large areas of study before, and I can figure this one out too. I’m getting better at ignoring the fact tht there are so many places where I could start, and just starting.

My plan:

Go through the tutorials until I can build things with a few hints. This will help me learn the basics.
Contribute to open source projects, then create and release my own. I want to learn both design and development.
Build more small apps. Release them and learn from the feedback.
Share what I’m learning through blog posts and maybe short e-books.
Graduate to paid apps or content? We’ll see. 

If I take it step by step, then it’s a lot more manageable. The more I learn, the better I can get at learning.

Many new fields are intimidating when you’re a beginner. That’s okay. Don’t let that stop you from starting.