Mobile Web for Higher Ed
There are lots of areas to talk about in mobile development but my reason for this post was the recent release of the iPhone. Not so much that the phone is cool(which it is) but what it could mean for the mobile industry and changes to come. I will not only hit on ways that mobile can relate to higher ed but mobile in general as well. I never thought much about mobile until an inspiring panel at SXSW this year.
First of all, a definition
mobile web - websites designed for viewing on mobile devices
Being that we are in higher ed it’s a pretty exciting market, most students have and are the most active users of mobile devices. Youths are always on the cutting edge. All throughout college I would buy the newest coolest phones, I’m trying to scrounge up money for an iPhone right now 
There are lots of cool things that most universities and colleges have that we can leverage online like:
- Directories
- Maps
- News and Events
- Calendars
- Communications
- Office hours, library hours, etc.
- Etc.
How great would it be as a student to be at one end of campus and know if your computer lab was open, or be in the lounge and check to see what time that game was at tonight?
Another very cool idea which is starting to show up but will only develop more in the future are location based services. This could be amazing in a community such as a campus! For example you could be walking by the chemistry building and be alerted that your TA is there for office hours. If your study partner for accounting happened to be around the dorms when you were you can meet to ask a few questions. These can also be used for location based marketing opportunities.
Crisis communications: In the aftermath of Virginia Tech it seems unanimous that mobile will be the best form of communications, while still coupled with other forms. SMS (text messages) can be used to send a message to every student in a very short time circumventing the many times slow and lagging university email servers that will only reach you if you are at a computer and checking your email at the time. You could also get updates throughout if you were stuck in a class.
Also not to forget, third party mobile sites. Many social networks such as facebook, twitter, etc now have mobile sites that you can figure into your marketing.
I will only touch shortly on the development of mobile sites since this isn’t higher ed specific. Mobile site development is essentially the same as development for regular sites as far as rules and standards go, BUT there are subtle differences. A few things to remember are the 3C’s of Mobile Web (Source : Blue Flavor)
- Cost
- If you don’t develop your mobile website responsibly, the user could get stuck with a big bill in order to view your content.
- Content
- Issues like navigation, image sizes, page weight and scripts all need to be considered when thinking about your website on mobile devices.
- Context
- What does your website add to the users mobility? How do you add value to their physical context? What is the context in which they will use your site? On a bus or train?
Here is an example of a university using mobile very well UT Mobile Services you can access their mobile site by going to http://mobile.utexas.edu/. For more technical information you can see my inspiration for the post the Blue Flavor presentation at SXSW and the dotMobi Mobile Web Guide
In the long run I think there will be a lot of development in this market. Right now there are constraints in the U.S. market from mobile providers and politicians which leave the U.S. mobile market years behind where it is in Europe and Japan. Mobile will change the way we gather and interact with information in the near future leaving us no longer chained to our computers.
- Matt Herzberger - July Blogger
Add comment July 2nd, 2007
