Spyros Xanthopoulos Dimitris Daskopoulos Charalambos Tsipizidis IT Center Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece
While PCs/laptops remain the most commonly owned device, 8 in 10 internet users now have a smartphone and almost half own a tablet. Three quarters of internet users are now going online via a mobile, while more than a third are connecting via a tablet. 16-24s are at the forefront of mobile internet usage; they spend more than 3 hours per day online via their smartphones (which equates to 43% of their total internet time). 2015 will probably see mobile web access reach parity with computers among this group. IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 2
IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 3
University-wide initiative for modern, quality services Introduces mobile access for students, faculty staff, and visitors Began in 2012 and available as Android app (Google Play), ios app (Apple itunes), and web app - https://www.auth.gr/mobile Mainly informational, but also for personalized services through browser login IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 4
Minimize development efforts Avoid separate codebases for each target platform Provide for non-app access (web app) Minimize content management Avoid separate content from main org website Draw live data from other sources IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 5
Hybrid app In-house development Open-source dev tools Tightly knit with university systems Central org website Institutional Directory Student Info Services Library biblio systems Computer lab login accounting IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 6
HTML5 and jquery front end Based on PhoneGap (currently Apache Cordova) Drupal CMS modules GWT (Google Web Toolkit) Google maps API Titanium for ios (Apple rejected initial hybrid ver) * SSO Authentication * non-native app was turned down as a simple web clippings content aggregator app IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 7
IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 8
No data stored or maintained for mobile app Pulls live data from main organization website Informational pages announcements unit descriptions, org chart, contact persons maps, building info and locations Search pages for people dir, library sources query interfaces Drupal - Services module All Drupal nodes available in JSON and XML formats Drupal - Views Datasource module custom drupal views transformed to various formats e.g. JSON,XML IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 9
Search people (contact info) Announcements live Maps, building locations/photos Administrative Structure Faculties and Schools info Student Info System Search Library Biblio Lab workstation availability Dining services menu Bus routes Gym sessions IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 10
IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 11
Logged-in via SSO on mobile browser Students have access to their courses syllabus and grades Faculty can view their classes view registered students mail entire classes or individuals, without accessing student email addresses IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 12
Mobile app on Google Play (6.5K current installs and a total 13.5K downloads) IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 13
Mobile app on itunes App Store (7.9K current installs) IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 14
Further development is under way for: One codebase for all platforms Emphasis on personalized services for AUTh community members Authorization of devices by means of OAuth Personal calendar for students and faculty Live notifications regarding course schedule changes personal notices from the Registar s Office maintenance of the institutional account IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 15
Quick access to info is critical and appreciated Popularity among students makes dev efforts worthwhile Hybrid apps, supported by open-source tools, a resource conserving method IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 16
We are interested in the development efforts of other European Universities for possible collaborations or just for discussing/comparing the different functionalities offered Contact mobile [at] auth.gr Spyros Xanthopoulos, Dimitris Daskopoulos, Charalambos Tsipizidis IT Center - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 17