18 Questions About Mobile in Higher Education Answered by University of Wisconsin

Mobile is one of the hottest and most important topics in the higher education technology community today. Many colleges have reacted by launching mobile apps and websites to serve students, faculty and alumni. The University of Wisconsin, in particular, has a keen understanding of the mobile-computing landscape and a strong idea of what the future holds. There are so many questions floating around about mobile: Are apps enough? How functional should an app be? Is it really necessary to have individual apps for every platform? Is responsive design the answer? Should apps be built in-house, or should the work be outsourced?

Every college is dealing with the same questions, and in an exchange on Twitter, the University of Wisconsin agreed to answer our questions about their mobile strategy. Over the course of an hour, we asked them 18 questions from our editorial team as well as from the higher education community on Twitter. Here are a few things we learned in our first tweetchat:

• In 2010, 45 percent of University of Wisconsin students were using mobile devices. In 2011, that number climbed to 56 percent; in 2012 it grew to 66 percent. So far in 2013, 88 percent of students have mobile devices. Wow!
• The university’s mobile app, called Mobile UW, has been downloaded more than 55,000 times.
• Since launching Mobile UW in 2010, daily average use has doubled every semester.

We’ve included the conversation from the tweetchat, below. If you have a suggestion for a future tweetchat, let us know!

Question 1

[Q1] @uwdoit Can you tell us why and when you decided to make a campus mobile app? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A1]@edtech_highered We released app Dec 2010 after 1 year dev due to huge growth in mobile use #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A1]@edtech_highered Mobile growth we saw: in March 2010, 45% of students had mobile; 2011-56%, 2012-66%, 2013-88% #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 2

[A1]@edtech_highered Speed was important, so we delivered minimum to campus fast and knew we'd continually add. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[Q2] @uwdoit What can users do on Mobile UW? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A2]@edtech_highered Users can access a directory, maps, news, calendar, athletics, get emergency info, watch videosƒ.#edtech101 (1/2)

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A2]@edtech_highered Users can also...get real time bus info, access library, connect with Alumni, and donate to the UW #edtech101 (2/2)

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A2]@edtech_highered Last update we also added access to MyUW: the campus portal which opens up tons of fx for users. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 3

[Q3] @uwdoit Who was involved in the development of your app? Did any students contribute? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A3]@edtech_highered From campus leadership for high-level vision & developers & student users for testing #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A3]@edtech_highered We built solution first, then asked campus for feedback. Students, faculty, staff, alumni give feedback.#edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 4

[Q4] @uwdoit Were other departments (library, transportation, athletics, etc.) involved? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A4]@edtech_highered Campus, city & private partners: UI/UX experts, athletics, Alumni, libraries, Registrar, Dean of Students #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A4]@edtech_highered All active tweeters. @uwbadgersdotcom, @buckybadger, @uwmadlibraries, @loriberquam, @uwmad_registrar #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 5

[Q5] @uwdoit Native or HTML5? How did you come to that decision? What are the benefits? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A5]@edtech_highered It's not either/or question to us. Mobile UW is a mix of both where each works best. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A5]@edtech_highered It's not either/or question to us. Mobile UW is a mix of both where each works best. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 6

[Q6] @uwdoit How do you manage bug fixes and updates for multiple platforms? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A6]@edtech_highered Our open feedback system makes it easy for users to email us. Integrated bug tracking helps identify crashes #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A6]@edtech_highered We can't give campus all they ask for, but we always listen to be sure we're trying our best to do so #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A6]@edtech_highered We started with minimum viable solution and then listened to what people liked, hated and longed for. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 7

[Q7] @uwdoit What will be included in the next update? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A7]@edtech_highered We're moving from traditional grid of icons to a more dynamic design that showcases campus imagery. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A7]@edtech_highered Our update will be driven by user feedback and will be student-focused.#edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 8

[Q8] @uwdoit Extremely important...How do you measure the ROI of a project like this? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A8]@edtech_highered Good question. Measuringimpact on helping make lives more mobile isn't always easy. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A8]@edtech_highered Downloads are a good start to quantifying our impact--we recently hit over 54,000. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A8]@edtech_highered Daily average use is another metric we like. Since launch, we've doubled DAU each semester. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A8]@edtech_highered User feedback is harder to quantify, but in many ways more valuable to us. It drives our priorities. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 9

[Q9] @uwdoit What was your strategy for marketing the app on campus? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A9]@edtech_highered We promoted through campus news channels: homepage, newsletters, social media, email lists.#edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A9]@edtech_highered Anyone accessing website got mobile-enabled site, leading a lot of people to migrate to the app.#edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A9]@edtech_highered Eventually, word of mouth. Complain to a roomate about missing the bus and *bam they've got a solution. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 10

[Q10] @uwdoit How have students/faculty responded? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A10]@edtech_highered Mostly, people are happy but they let us know what else they want. We work to but can't always keep up #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A10]@edtech_highered Coming from IT, it's a welcome change to get positive feedback outnumbering problems and complaints #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A10]@edtech_highered A common student request is for course cataglogue search & registration via mobile, which is challenging #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A10]@edtech_highered A common faculty request is for larger font sizes :)Sometimes, the user generation gap proves tough. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 11

[Q11] @uwdoit How many students/faculty have downloaded the app? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A11]@edtech_highered As of this week, we have 55,000 downloads.Not bad for a campus of 62K students, faculty, staff. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 12

[Q12] @uwdoit What is your long-term mobile strategy? #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A12]@edtech_highered We understand each device is used differently, so our goal is information access any time, place or device #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A12]@edtech_highered Course registration, eg, with tons of information may be richer on tablet vs phone, but both still mobile #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A12]@edtech_highered The future of sharing and interacting with content is not tethered to a campus location. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A12]@edtech_highered Tomorrow's learning is expected to be mobile. We want to meet those expectations. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A12]@edtech_highered Tomorrow's learning is expected to be mobile. We want to meet those expectations. #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 13

[Q13] from @panola_dl "Responsive design (mobile site) vs app?" #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[Q13] It’s critical to be present in the native app space -- our students, alumni etc expect us to be there #edtech101 @edtech_highered 2/3

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[Q13] But URLs lead people to web; being mobile-web friendly is critical. RWD is best approach right now #edtech101 @edtech_highered 3/3

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 14

[Q14] from @streborv "How do you encourage faculty use of mobile tech in curriculum?" #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[Q14] Exploring mobile use in teaching/learning. Big challenge is keeping students off mobile devices in class. #edtech101 @edtech_highered

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 15

[Q15] from @johnayers "What were biggest friction points encountered? plz share hurdles regarding integration of content." #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A15] We first integrated existing, open data services. But thats a challenge: getting data ready to integrate. @edtech_highered #edtech101

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 16

[Q16] from @minnow61: "Should your native iOS UI differ from your Android UI? If so, in what ways?" #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A16] They should have same functionality, but customized to platform UX standards. #edtech101 @edtech_highered 1/2

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[A16] Android users don’t want to see an “iOS” looking app on their device and vice versa. #edtech101 @edtech_highered 2/2

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 17

[Q17] from @minnow61: "Do you see a tablet-specific app as strategically important? If so, just iPad? Different from phone app?" #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[A17] At this point in time, we don’t have a tablet-specific strategy. We do natively support iPad and Android tablets. #edtech101...

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

Question 18

[Q18] last Q, from @johnayers "Can you share thoughts on building internally with UW teams vs. vendor vs. a hybrid of both?" #edtech101

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) March 20, 2013

[Q18] We chose to build internally, because we felt it would give us greater control and flexibility.#edtech101 @edtech_highered1/2

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013

[Q18] Internal also meant we're not restricted to framework or “template” of many vendor solutions. #edtech101 #EdTech_HigherEd 2/2

— UW-Madison DoIT (@UWDoIT) March 20, 2013