Claude Planning

Sign Up

Sign Up

If you don’t already have a Claude account, sign up for the Pro plan ($20/month). You’ll want access to Claude for the rest of the semester as you work on your project — roughly three months, so $60 total. You can cancel anytime after the class ends. A discount link is available at claude.ai/alex, although it may not work for the entire day.

Planning With Claude

Planning With Claude

Once you’re logged in, open a new conversation and start discussing your app idea. Your brainstorming ideas from a few weeks ago are shown below for reference. You should not immediately commit to one idea. Chat with Claude about several of your brainstorming ideas to help you compare and decide.

Here are some things to talk through with Claude:

1. What your app does. Describe the core idea and who it’s for.
2. Is this realistic for a beginner? You’ll be building this app by having conversations with Claude — not by writing code from scratch yourself. But some ideas are still harder than others. Ask Claude honestly: “Is this something a beginner could build with AI help in a month or two?” Be open to simplifying your idea if needed.
3. Does your app need anything beyond the phone itself? Some app ideas require a server, a database on the internet, connections to outside services, or external datasets. We can help with that, but it’s good to identify those dependencies now. Ask Claude if your idea needs anything like that and what your options are.
4. Will it work in the emulator? If you don’t have an Android phone, you’ll be testing your app in Android Studio’s emulator — a simulated phone on your computer. Most things work fine, but some features like the camera, GPS, or motion sensors don’t behave the same way. Ask Claude whether your app idea will work well in the emulator, and what workarounds exist if not.

Don’t worry if Claude mentions concepts or technologies you haven’t seen before — that’s expected! Ask it to explain anything unfamiliar. For example: “What’s a RecyclerView? How is it different from a regular list?” Claude is patient and happy to explain things at whatever level you need.

We aren’t writing code yet today — that’s why we’re using Claude’s web interface rather than a code editor. The goal is to come away being able to explain how your app works without relying on Android jargon — just a clear picture of what you’re building and how to get started.

Share Your Conversation

Share Your Conversation

When you’re ready, create a public share link to your conversation:

1. Click the Share button at the top-right of your Claude conversation
2. Toggle the link to Public
3. Copy the link and paste it below

Share links capture a snapshot of the conversation at the time you create them. If you continue the conversation after sharing, click Change below and submit a new share link to capture the updated version.