Mobile App Development in Higher Ed

In 2008, ACU jumped into the world of mobile web application development with a flurry of work over a short few months, with programmers working long hours and weekends to have applications ready for 1000 incoming iPhone- and iPod Touch-toting students. By this fall, the rollout of devices will reach all undergraduates and we've identified new application needs based on our two years of experience.

Our case study will compare the two development efforts with primary emphasis on the second project, describing how the involvement of our UI/UX designer from the beginning enabled the vision for a new in-class tool and how the use of SCRUM has re-energized our developers

Presented by: James Langford & Chad Q. Martin

Transcript

1. James Langford Ph.D. Chad Q. Martin @chadQmartin
2. m.acu.edu mobile site mobile app for group discussions What we did + What we learned
3. • Masters I, Liberal Arts • 800 Faculty Staff • 5,000 Students • Residential
4. Mobile Learning Initiative • www.acu.edu/connected • Fall 2008 iPhones & iPod Touches to all freshmen • Fall 2010 all full-time undergraduates with devices
5. Faculty Involvement 160 Mobile Learning Explorers 50% Faculty participation in 1st year Upload syllabus Keep Course Calendar with Assignments Attend two training sessions 5 Mobile Learning Fellows Focus on Research
6. What do you need when you’re out & about?
7. Existing Tools
8. m.acu.edu (before)
9. Designing m.acu.edu
10. It started with: • 10 sketches • 30 Photoshop Docs • 75+ Visual Comps • 100+ icons • hundreds of emails • lots of trial and error
11. before + after
12. Context
13. Categorize (sitewide content)
16. ACU Mobile, My Mobile, Pocket Guide
17. Prioritize (individual page content)
18. 1 2 3 4
20. Adding Features + Functions
21. Progression
22. m.acu.edu What We Learned
24. Scrum A cross-functional team with well- defined roles plans and creates potentially-releasable versions of a product every few weeks with continual feedback and refinement.
25. Explaining SCRUM http://www.implementingscrum.com/2009/05/28/the-chicken-and-pig-story-now-in-tagalog/
26. Product Owner • Describes requirements as stories • Decides priorities of stories
27. Scrum Team • Organizes themselves • Decides complexity of stories • Breaks stories into tasks • Does work • Presents to product owner
28. Scrum Master • Supports scrum team • Organizes sprints • Removes impediments • Charts progress • Presides over daily scrum, planning sessions
29. Scrum Process • Two-week (in our case) “sprints” • Sprint planning • Presentation • Backlog grooming, release planning • Stories and tasks moved across scrum board
30. FaceTime/ HeadsUp presentation
31. When social media experts get together http://twitpic.com/z381u by @nanpalmero
32. Technology should empower interaction,
33. not distract from it.
34. GPS Enter address then focus on the road
35. Time in class is limited and precious 92% 8% 168 13 Class Time Week
36. Can technology enhance these 13 hours without being the focus?
37. ACU’s 21st Century Vision “ACU will deliver a unique, Christ-centered experience that draws students into community.”
38. Classes = Mini-Communities
39. Discussion Groups = Micro- Communities
40. • Set-up time • Weak prompts •Group Dynamics Problems with small groups
41. Facilitating small group creation and direction
42. Reclaiming Classroom Setup Teaching & Discussion W rapup With FaceTime Teaching & Discussion Wrapup Traditional Small Group Setup Setup
43. Overhead Reduce admin time Learning Increase discussion quality
44. Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist How it Works
45. Create Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist
46. • Time consuming or convenience-based methods • Criteria-based sorting difficult Manual Sorting Smart Sorting • Simple setup & lots of control • Quickly creates groups, randomly or based on criteria
47. Create & Sort Groups by: • Age • Major • GPA • Classification • Meyers Briggs • Teacher input • Student input • Random
48. Assign Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist
49. 1 You are in group: You are in group: You are in group: 2 3
50. Prompt & Discuss Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist
51. You are the White Hat You are the Green Hat You are the Yellow Hat TOPIC: Healthcare Reform TOPIC: Healthcare Reform TOPIC: Healthcare Reform Data-Only Unemotional Facts & Statistics Creativity Outside the box Keep things moving Positivity Excitement Emotional Discussion: Six Thinking Hats
52. Focus on the Strengths Focus on the Weaknesses Focus on the Threats TOPIC: Free Speech TOPIC: Free Speech TOPIC: Free Speech Discussion Prompt
53. Mom Planning a surprise birthday party for your daughter tonight TOPIC: Improv TOPIC: Improv TOPIC: Improv Custom Prompt Daughter You really, really, really want to go out with friends tonight Dad You just got home from a trip and want to go out to dinner with your wife
54. Reporting Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist
55. Designated Reporter: John Hailey Megan Smith Beth Neilson Reggie Biggs Amy Lee Be ready to summarize your discussion for the class at 9:40
56. Evaluate Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist
57. Overall Ratings Topic Group Individual Ratings John Hailey Megan Smith Beth Neilson
58. Persist Create Groups Assign Groups Send Prompts Discussion Reporting Evaluate Persist
59. Share My Contact Info John Hailey Megan Smith Beth Neilson Reggie Biggs Dr. Smith
60. Benefits
61. Student Benefits • Maximized in-class time • Diversified interactions • Increased participation levels • New approaches to problem solving
62. Instructor Benefits • Simplified group setup & management • Focused, meaningful discussions • Feedback on discussions & participants • People are the focus (not technology)
63. Not Just for Small Groups
64. Classtime is
65. Pilot Project Demo
67. Wizard vs. Modular
72. Admin Close Assign Groups Random, 8, Leader, Reporter.... Start Reporting Guidelines: Please limit your... Send Evaluations Guest Speaker, Classmates... Send Discussion Hulk vs. Wolverine, Pro/Con SEND VIEW OPTIONS Here's our status statement.
77. Leader’s View
78. Participant View
79. Participant View
80. Participant View
81. What We Learned
83. Thank you. PivotalAction.com/wharton (later today) @chadQmartin