The Information Technology Department (DoIT) now has something in common with the technology giants of Facebook, Google and Microsoft: it has gone mobile.
In a world where 80 percent of people own mobile phones, 45 percent of which are smartphones, industry moguls are scrambling and competing for the best mobile settings.
This overwhelming trend of smartphone dependence is what ultimately led to the creation of SOLAR Mobile for Stony Brook students, as well as other mobile applications intended solely for the convenience of students on campus.
SOLAR Mobile launched at the end of January, just before the beginning of the spring 2013 semester. Prior to the mobile arrival, DoIT worked extensively with students from the fall 2012 semester to get their feedback and found the mobile platform was in high demand.
“For universities, this is one of the most strategic plans, to go mobile with whatever applications they have,” Kim Rant, a business analyst at DoIT, said.
DoIT purchased the software needed to convert the webpage to the mobile format and from there took student feedback as to what they wanted to see the most in the new mobile settings.
DoIT decided to start out with the options that are more mobile-friendly.
“We tried not to make it too transaction oriented. We decided to go with view-only, on-the-go important things that students need to see, which was based on student feedback,” Rant said.
These on-the-go features include the following: messages/to-do lists, my weekly schedule, view my grades, enrollment dates, my course history and the account summary/what do I owe option.
Rant and the rest of DoIT are keeping a close eye on what settings students are using the most and from there are strategically planning their next move.
The big plan at large is to eventually have all of SOLAR on the mobile platform, including class search and registration. But for now, SOLAR mobile is formatted to meet the quick needs of a students should they ever be on the run and unable to access a computer.
Similar to SOLAR Mobile is the latest Blackboard application, also available to all students free for download at the App Store. Just like SOLAR Mobile, the TLT department purchased the Blackboard mobile application piece separately from Blackboard itself with student feedback in mind.
“Last year I ran a student survey in December of 2011 and asked students what they wanted,” Diana Voss, manager of instructional technology at DoIT, said. “One of the things students said was ‘I really want to be able to use Blackboard and SOLAR on my mobile device.’”
Following this student survey, the Blackboard Learn edition was purchased from Blackboard, Inc. for students to use the application on their phone at no charge. The results were immediate.
“I know it was adopted really quickly here, because when we did it, Blackboard was calling me within the second day, asking ‘How did you do it? How did you get everybody to start using it so quickly?’” Voss said. “It must have been something people really wanted. Within two days, they had never seen such adoption, just from Stony Brook alone.”
Just this past week alone, there have been nearly 9,000 visitors, averaging 10,600 log-ins. The numbers show how useful students find the mobile applications.
“It’s convenient for me as a commuter,” senior Neelam Chhikara said. “I pull up readings for class in my car, or even while other people are driving, I’ll read off my phone.”
There is no telling what the future of Stony Brook apps might be, but students can be assured that the SBU mobile settings are progressively taking center stage. More developments will continue to take place in the future, giving students more expediency, all within arm’s reach.
