Pres

1. Making Mobile Work for You
Julie Usher

2. Julie Usher
Learning Technologist
University of Northampton
MALT Project leader
Co-facilitator of UK & Ireland Mobile User Group

3. In this workshop, participants will...
• Identify aims and objectives for their mobile project
• Consider the evidence required to build a case for
Mobile
• Develop understanding of the Blackboard Mobile
product
• Discover how the Blackboard Mobile development
team works with clients
• Review the options available for encouraging
engagement with Mobile
• Consider how to measure the impact of your mobile
project

4. Why mobile?
• Identify the drivers for your own institution

5. The path to mobile success
Research
Plan Build
Evaluate Test
Release

6. The path to mobile success
Research
Plan Build
Evaluate Test
Release

7. Research: Why mobile?
Driver: Learning and Teaching opportunities
New Learning New Technology
Personalised Personal
Learner centred User centred
Situated Mobile
Collaborative Networked
Ubiquitous Ubiquitous
Lifelong Durable
Source: Sharples, M., J. Taylor, & G. Vavoula (2007). “A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age”.
In K. Littleton & P. Light (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of E-Learning Research (pp. 221-247). London: Sage, p224

8. Research: Why mobile?
Driver: Marketing to prospective students
What % of our market owns a smartphone?
Global sales: 149m units in Q4 20111
50.3% of the UK population, as of Feb 20122
71% of 16-24 yr olds in the UK use the web
from their mobile3
1Source: Gartner Inc
2Source:Kantar Worldpanel ComTech
3Source: Office of National Statistics

9. Research: Why mobile?
Driver: Marketing to prospective students
Are students using apps to research university
choices?
• 7,500 downloads of the UCAS Connect app
(August 2011)

10. Research: Why mobile?
Driver: Marketing to prospective students
How many other HEIs have an app?

11. Research: Why mobile?
Driver: Demand from current students
How many of your students and staff have
smartphones, and what kind?
- 53% staff, 67% students
- 45% iOS, 33% Android, 16% Blackberry
What services do they need to access?

12. Plan: What can mobile do for me?
• What information or services would your current
students, prospective students and staff want to
have on their mobile devices?

13. Plan: Choose a supplier
• In-house or external?
Major updates to Apple and Android Mobile OS, Jan 2010 – Mar 2012
Add in Blackberry and Mobile Web versions to this…

14. Blackboard Mobile Central
http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Mobile/Products/Mobile-Central/Features.aspx

15. Blackboard Mobile Central

16. Examples and use cases
http://m.northampton.ac.uk
iPhone app Android app
You are a prospective student, considering
applying for a fashion degree at Northampton. You
want to find out what the standard is like.
When and where is the Graduate Fashion Show
being held this year?

17. Examples and use cases
http://mobile.spu.edu
iPhone app Android app
You are delivering a guest lecture on the
undergraduate level Communication
course, module COM 1321. Your lecture is on
Friday at 11.
Which room are you teaching in?

18. Examples and use cases
http://m.vcu.edu/
iPhone app Android app
You’re a student arranging to meet up with friends.
What’s happening at your favourite eatery (Market
810) next Monday night?

19. Examples and use cases
http://m.northampton.ac.uk
iPhone app Android app
You’re a member of admin staff, trying to find some
tracking information on a student’s activity in
Blackboard. You don’t use Blackboard often and
could use some help.
What’s the phone number of your friendly local
Learning Technologist?

20. Customising Mobile Central
Not quite the tools you wanted? Add your own
links:
• Admissions at Northern Arizona University
• Lab finder at Clemson University
or use the SDK to build you own:
• Photo sharing at Loyola Marymount University
• Medical apps at The Medical College
of Georgia

21. Plan: Who needs to be involved?
CIS (Timetabling) Marketing
Course info Mobile web page Jpg files Flickr Youtube
Web Library
Staff directory
team Systems
Talis integration
Events listings
LearnTech
News feeds Blackboard Learn

22. The path to mobile success
Research
Plan Build
Evaluate Test
Release

23. Building the app
• Supplying the data
• Communicating with the development team:
http://jira.medu.com
• Testing builds of the app

24. The path to mobile success
Research
Plan Build
Evaluate Test
Release

25. Release and promotion
Visit the Blackboard Mobile Central Marketing Resource Center for ideas,
examples, templates and more!

26. The path to mobile success
Research
Plan Build
Evaluate Test
Release

27. Evaluation: qualitative data
Get as much feedback from users as you can
• Twitter (create a hashtag, e.g. #iNorthampton)
• Facebook
• Email (create an address for suggestions)
• Blog
• Spot surveys
• Focus groups
• Pilots

28. Evaluation: quantitative data
Mobile Central Analytics portal

29. Quick re-cap
• Identify aims and objectives for their mobile project
• Consider the evidence required to build a case for
Mobile
• Develop understanding of the Blackboard Mobile
product
• Discover how the Blackboard Mobile development
team works with clients
• Review the options available for encouraging
engagement with Mobile
• Consider how to measure the impact of your mobile
project

30. Questions / comments?

31. Contact details
Julie Usher
Learning Technology
University of Northampton
Email: julie.usher@northampton.ac.uk
Twitter: @jules_u
Web: northampton.ac.uk/learntech