Talking Stick - January/February 2011 - 42

the Revolution Will Be Digitized

started to create Facebook pages to interface with students, including versions of their webpages on such sites; others have turned to Facebook and similar sites for the process of matching roommates.

he next step in utilizing this technology on campus may be to make these applications smaller and more mobile; smart phones and other mobile devices are the wave of the technological future. With BlackBerries, iPhones, and other smart phones in hand, students are no longer tied to computers and laptops. They expect to find information at their fingertips wherever they are, and departments are trying to meet their needs. Several institutions are beginning to require cell phone numbers so as to contact students faster via text messaging. Many institutions have developed specific applications (“apps”) for a wide range of functions. “We have hired students to help develop iPhone apps,” states Mian. “We have a survey to find out what they want to do – pay bills, get information – and within one year we hope to have the features out there.” The Office of Web and New Media at Missouri State University in Springfield developed an app to make transportation easier for students. “The app started off as a way of tracking the university’s shuttle system so that users would know the location of the various shuttles serving our 6 different shuttle routes,” states Lenord McGownd, assistant director of residence life. Since first unveiling the app, the office has also “added three other channels: a campus news stream, our Go Maroon! Website for all things related to the marketing of the university, and finally a way of connecting to iTunesU,” says McGownd. Several schools are also utilizing app technology through smart websites. Laurie Mackey, associate
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map, balances for their Bevo Bucks account as well as their Dine In Dollar Account, menus from all of our dining centers, abbreviated version of the student’s My Housing with relevant information, maintenance request form, news and alerts.” The site is very popular, having had over 8,000 hits since its unveiling in March. On average, the site receives 1,500 hits a month during the school year. Use of mobile devices has become an easy and versatile way to keep students at Stanford informed about everything from entertainment events to emergencies. “Students currently use a number of online applications which can be adapted for mobile use, such as our maintenance Fix-It Requests, laundry alerts, and room condition forms,” states Oamek. For those web browsers who do not currently work on mobile devices, “the goal is to either transfer them to applications or update the websites for use with mobile browsers so as to provide this functionality via mobile devices.” Oamek lists a variety of new uses for the technology that are now being considered: “We also have a number of mobile initiatives in the pipeline, including announcements and advertising, a calendar of events, and a locationbased activity finder, tentatively called ‘Around Me – What’s Going on in Student Housing and R & DE.’ We are working towards disseminating emergency preparedness information and assisting in the location of emergency assembly points via mobile applications, as well as looking into the possibility of accepting advance food orders in our retail establishments from mobile device users.”

The next step in utilizing this technology on campus may be to make these applications smaller and more mobile; smart phones and other mobile devices are the wave of the technological future.

director of administrative services at the University of Texas in Austin, explains, “We decided to develop one for multiple platforms. By developing a smart website any smart phone can access it.” For students, this means access to “the information they need while they are moving around on campus.” Mackey lists the following services available to students via the website: “Phone numbers they need to conduct business, list of Bevo Bucks merchants and their location on a

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Benefits and Challenges
echnological advances obviously made things much easier for Jane than they had been for John, but how have they affected the
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Talking Stick - January/February 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - January/February 2011
