Nathan Gerber is the Director of Web Development Services at Utah Valley University. He gave a presentation on mobile web strategies for higher education institutions. Some key points from his presentation include: - Mobile internet usage is growing rapidly and will impact how institutions provide online content and services. - When developing a mobile strategy, institutions should focus on key information and services for current students, start small, and be willing to iterate based on what works. - Content management systems need to support multi-format publishing and content reuse across desktop and mobile. Mobile-specific templates and tagging can also help. - QR codes, browser sniffing, analytics, and testing on emulators can help institutions test and improve their mobile offerings.

1. Nathan Gerber
Director, Web Development Services
Utah Valley University

2. Nathan Gerber
Director, Web Development Services
Utah Valley University

3. Nathan Gerber @nathangerber
 16 years Web IA experience
 Director, Web Development Services
 Noel-Levitz Associate Consultant,
Web Strategy Services Team
Utah Valley University
 Largest state university in Utah
 34,000+ students
 29,000+ public pages

4.  Why mobile is important
 If you are still wondering after this conference, we need to talk.
 The questions we answered and why
 You’ve heard most of these already.
 Tools we found to be keys to success
 This, you might find interesting
 New mobile concepts…make you think…
 Possible shifts in the way we approach design, development

5. Can you find my son in this picture?

7.  Blah, Blah, Blah
 Yeah, we all know (now that we attended
HighEd Web 2011) mobile is sky rocketing!
 But how big of a “shift” is it?

8. Mainframe  PC
Dial-up 
Broadband
MOBILE

11. 1.37 Billion
mobile phones sold in 2010
In context:
 1.2 Billion total PC in world
 1.6 Billion televisions

12. 80%
The percentage of people who will access the
internet via a mobile device by 2015.
(Already 75% in Japan)
150
The number of times an average
person checks their mobile phone
per day.

13. Watching the trends on our
campus
Allocated 4,000 IP addresses
to lease on wireless system
First two days of semester…
Over
31,000
devices attempted connection
(34,000+ students)

14. 42%
Percentage of teens in the U.S. can send a text
message blindfolded.
(They can type faster on a phone than a QUERTY keyboard)

15. “What is your favorite way to communicate?”
▪ Text Messaging – 68%
▪ Voice (mobile call) – 9.2%
▪ Facebook – 8.8%
▪ Instant Messaging – 2.8%
▪ E-mail – 0.2%

16. What do you use your phone for?
 Voice Calls
 Computer
 GPS
 Accelerometer
 Camera/microphone/speakers
 Location based services

17. Mobile is huge!
It is coming like a tsunami!
It will impact us beyond just building
another website!

18. “Mobilize, don’t miniaturize”… anon.
- Anonymous
“… the mobile context is so different from the
desktop one it deserves direct consideration
vs. just mangling down a full-size site.”
- Drew Stevenson, University of Minnesota, 2010
“The user IS mobile, not just holding one.”
- Justin Gatewood, Victor Valley Community College

19. “It is not about making our site work on a
mobile device, it is about what our users
need when they’re mobile”
- Mobile Web Team, Utah Valley University

21. Know the problem you are
trying to solve
“If you don’t know where you are going,
any old ticket will do”

22. Who are we building for?
What are we doing it for?
Current Students
To provide top info
and services
AUDIENCE?
PURPOSE?

24.  It is a matter of available skill sets
and/or resources for your mobile project
 Recommendation: Do what you can to
get resources and skill sets to do both
 To be mobile, you will eventually
do both!

25. Mobile web project
Web team resources

26. Android
+349%
iPhone
+126%
iPad
+332%
Windows
Blackberry
What devices do we build
for and support?
 iPhone
 Android
 iPad
Why?
 Because our users have them
(and so do our Administrators)
 Resources

28. Use campus-wide web team
 Input/buy-in
Present a strategy to Admin
 Information item
Use current campus resources
 IT, marketing, tech. students

29. 1. Mobile Web Site for key content/services
 Resources and time
2. Make your current site presentable
 Clean up CSS and layout
3. Mobile Apps – where needed
 Use frameworks for ROI

4. Responsive/Adaptive design restructure
 Learn and implement
5. Bring it all together
 One system, one site

30. http://www.dmolsen.com/mobile-in-higher-ed/

33. How big do we make our first attempt?
 Start with info for students
 Choose top content
 Don’t try to publish everything*
 Be willing to make mistakes*
 Be flexible*
 Design and redesign*
 Add apps where needed
*from TAMUmobile – HighEd Web 2010
Baby steps, Bob,
baby steps

34.  One code set – multiple mobile platforms
 Research ERP Vendor solutions
 Banner, PeopleSoft, Datatel
 Focus on mobile web, apps only where
needed
 Many different frameworks available

36.  http://colly.com/ - simple movement of
columns
 http://garretkeizer.com/ - fluid layout,
flexible images and text
 http://citycrawlers.eu/berlin/ - slideshow
drops out at small resolution

38.  W3C Mobile Initiave
 http://www.w3.org/Mobile/
 Several Mobile Approaches
 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/07/11/
picking-a-mobile-support-strategy-for-your-
website/
 HTML 5 Boilerplate
 http://html5boilerplate.com/

39.  One of our most important mobile tools
 OmniUpdate’s OUCampus
 Evaluate your CMS for mobile
 Content reuse?
 Mobile templates?
 Multi-format publish?
 Mobile tagging?
 Republish RSS feeds from other systems?

40. Where Is The Content How To Use In Mobile
Existing web page Publish through XSL – CSS to present in
mobile format
Piece of existing web page Special DIV, publish through XSL– CSS
to present in mobile format
Content specific for mobile, relevant to
existing web page
Special DIV, publish through XSL – CSS
to present in mobile format
Content from other systems Use OU RSS features – CSS to present
in mobile format

41.  Remember, it is about the content
contributors – ownership
 Do not split out mobile CMS unless
necessary
 If needed, look for ways to migrate to
appropriate CMS tools over time

42. “Check to see what data you have access
to before you start building your mobile
web.”
▪ Mobile on a Shoestring – HighEd Web 2011
 Quinn Madson, Joel Herron
 University of Wisconsin

44. Source: http://xkcd.com
Mobile Web

45.  OmniUpdate
 QR codes
 Browser sniffer
 Analytics
 HTML 5
 Lots of devices
 Some emulators *
 Other higher ed mobile sites
* http://mobiforge.com/emulators/page/mobile-emulators

46. 4,449%
How much the use of QR codes has risen
in the past year.
 For mobile use only
 Use a QR service with a URL shortener
 Consider QR codes an asset

47.  Creating a launch panel for other UVU
apps
 Create app functionality where needed
 Integration of OmniUpdate and other
systems data sets
 Continual migration of public site and
mobile together
 Responsive/Adaptive design

48.  Mobile is changing the way we
view/consume content and services
 Research, decide, modify as you go
 Choose what works for your institution
 Keep Administration informed
 CMS is a key tool – XML, RSS
 Get on board! Higher Ed is already
behind
 Be a mobile user yourself, best evaluator

49. - Mobile Web Team, Utah Valley University

50. Nathan Gerber
Nathan.Gerber@uvu.edu
@nathangerber