Mobile Applications: Meeting Students

Where They Live

Presented by: Deborah Ludford and Brad Rippe

North Orange County Community College District

March 27, 2012

Session ID 1289

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Learning Objectives

• How to create an environment for effective mobile

applications

• How to plan for the ongoing nature of mobile

applications

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Agenda

• Video introduction to mobile applications at

NOCCCD

• Why provide mobile applications?

• What mobile applications to provide?

• Development environment

• Lessons Learned & Best Practices

• Marketing Strategies

• Future Plans

• Demo

Introduction to Mobile Apps at

NOCCCD

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Intro to Mobile Apps at NOCCCD

Why Mobile Applications?

Meeting Students Where They Live

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Why Mobile Applications?

Source: K.C. Green, Campus Computing 2010

Student Monitor’s Spring 2010

survey of undergraduates reveals

that 90 percent of full-time

undergraduates in four-year colleges

and universities own mobile phones,

and almost half of these students

already own a smart phone, a

number certain to increase In coming

years. Student Monitor, 2010

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Why Mobile Applications?

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What Mobile Devices?

Types of Smartphones

iPhone 40%

Blackberry 36%

Android 22%

Other 2%

Source: University Colorado Boulder

Source: Google Analytics

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What to Use to Write Applications?

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Solution: SunGard’s Mobile Connection

• Mobile Connection 1.0

• Support multiple mobile platforms

• Built on Open Source Software

• Integrates with LDAP and Banner Data

• Quick Start

• m-Apps (Feeds, Grades, Schedule, Restaurant)

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What Applications to Provide?

• 22 College/University iPhone apps

— News - 21

— Directory - 18

— Maps - 18

— Events - 13

— Videos - 9

— Courses - 6

— Sports - 6

— Photos - 5

— Library - 5

— Twitter - 4

• 8 vendor solutions

• University Texas at Austin; Stanford; Harvard; Boston College; Saddleback; Irvine Valley College; Mt.

Hood College; Rice University; more

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What Applications to Include in NOCCCD Release

1.0?

• m-Apps

• Student’s Daily Schedule

• Grades

• Restaurants

• News Feed

• Staff Directory

• Class Schedule

• Campus Map

Development

Create an easy to use environment

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Technical Environment

• Mobile Connection 1.0.1

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.6.21+

• Grails 1.3.6 - http://www.grails.org

• Spring

• Hibernate

• Groovy

• Rhodes Framework 2.2.5 - http://rhomobile.com/projects/rhodes

• Ruby/Rails

• Android SDK and NDK

• Blackberry JDE

• iOS SDK/Xcode

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Mobile Computing Architecture

API

request

Luminis IV LDAP

response

Banner

Mobile Server

NOCCCD Basic Configuration

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Development Plan

3 institutions

3 platforms

~ 4 months

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Development Team

District/SCE

Cypress

Fullerton

TEST

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Development: Collaborating across the District

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Development Strategy: Code Repository

Lessons Learned & Best Practices

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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Lessons Learned

• Don’t bite off more than you can chew

• Use a syntax aware editor (STS or RhoStudio)

• Develop a realistic timeline

• Plan for App Store membership (Blackberry, Apple,

Android)

• Get the community involved

• Contribute to Community Source Initiative

—https://csicode.sungardhe.com/

• Read Mobile Connection Community in the

Commons

• Monitor comments and downloads

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Best Practices

• Monitor the Mobile Application Server

• Apache Tomcat 6.0.32

• Run Non-Root User

• Apache JMeter

• JVM Options

• VisualVM

http://visualvm.java.net/

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Best Practices – Monitor Usage

http://code.google.com/p/psi-probe/

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Best Practices

• Have an assigned Project Manager

• Collaborate across your organization on

development and use the public resources as much

as possible (i.e. Commons)

• Create a convenient jump page

• Develop a solid marketing plan

Marketing Strategies

Get the Word Out

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Marketing Strategy

• Promote yourself

—Facebook

—Twitter

—App Stores

—Campus Web Sites

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Downloads to Date

• App Store = 3499

• Android Market = 2462

• Blackberry = 55

Total = 6016

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Ver 1.0

Do

wn

load

s

*Statistics from 09/01/2011 - 01/04/2012

App Store

Android

Blackberry

Future Plans

Where Do We Go From Here?

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Future Plans

• Move framework from 1.0.1 to 1.2

• JQtouch to JQuery Mobile 1.0

• Searchable News Feeds

• Schedule adds calendar/week view

• Better tablet support

• Statistics via Google Analytics

• Add search feature and filtering to Class Schedule

• Add Analytics to server

• Improve User Interface design

• Develop new applications including:

—Financial Aid Status

—Student Holds

—Account Balance

Screenshots

Mobile App @ NOCCCD

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News Feeds

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Grades

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Student Schedule

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Courses (Class Schedule)

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Campus Map

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Staff Directory across the district

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Transit

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Summary

• Mobile Solution

• Mobile Connection

• Campus Community Involvement

• Team Commitment

• Developer Environment

• Set a plan

• Plan for the Future

More technical information -

http://www.slideshare.net/brippe/3-cbg-mobileapps

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Questions & Answers

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Thank You!

Deborah Ludford - dludford@nocccd.edu

Brad Rippe - brippe@nocccd.edu

Please complete the online session evaluation form

Session ID 1289

SunGard Data Systems and/or its subsidiaries in the U.S.A. and other countries is the owner of numerous marks, including “SunGard” and the

SunGard logo. SunGard Higher Education and/or its subsidiaries in the U.S.A. and other countries is the owner of “Banner,” “PowerCAMPUS,”

“Advance,” “Luminis,” "DegreeWorks," "fsaATLAS," “Course Signals,” and “Open Digital Campus.” Other names and marks used in this material are

owned by third parties.

© 2012 SunGard Higher Education. All rights reserved.

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