MOBILE COMPUTING: WEB APPS AND MOODLE

Presentation to the Moodle Moot

May 5, 2011

Bill Fricker

MOBILE COMPUTING: WEB APPS AND MOODLE - CONCLUSIONS

Web Apps over Native Apps Moodle

1. Clearly able to be used on mobile devices; the question now is how well and how soon

2. User demand pressures may be overwhelming

Now, let’s see if I can make the case for these conclusions

ONE YEAR AGO, AU CONTRACTED BONNE JOURNEE STRATEGIES TO …

• Interviewed – More than 50 AU employees– Contacts at other

educational institutions– Contacts with vendors

• Conducted a wide range literature search

• Assigned: – April 28, 2010

• Report submitted: – Aug 6, 2010

– Thanks to AU for their permission to share information today

Identify strategic opportunities that may be present with respect to AU’s employment of mobile computing

INTRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN

Introduction Mobile Market

Momentum Mobile Uses Environmental Scan

Internal – AU Early mobile

projects Related KIP projects Community

Adjustment Fund Academic

Environmental Scan Survey of published

literature Text Book

Publishers’ Support Reports from

Forester Research, Inc

2010 Horizon Report

Burton Group Abilene Christian

University140 + citations and links

AU MEDIA ON MOBILE DISPLAYS

Key developments HTML5 CSS JavaScript XML SMS

Content Management System Alfresco OROS - Student Information

Services AU Library – Mobile State

This report section was developed by Kieron Quigley, Drive Train Software, Inc, who is now the Global Solutions Manager of Cisco Telepresence Group

AU MEDIA ON MOBILE DISPLAYS

• Mobile Display Status– In summary, “as is”

for now, but enrichments pending

– mobileOKchecker tool– Adobe Flash

• Moodle– Some functionality,

and promising developments

– Moodle4iPhone project

– mpage

MEDIA ON MOBILE DISPLAYSMAY 2011 UPDATE HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript continue to increase

penetration and adoption in the marketplace. HTML5 web "applications" continue to surprise pundits in their ability to provide a rich, desktop-class application on mobile devices

Continual growth the smartphone market is apparent. Recently, IDC reported that in 2011, smartphone sales will grow almost 50% as consumers replace traditional 'feature' phones -that's a huge number (see http://mashable.com/2011/03/29/idc-smartphone-market-growth/)

Source – K. Quigley Continued

MEDIA ON MOBILE DISPLAYSMAY 2011 UPDATE, CONTINUED

mobile app downloads – 2010 ―10.9 billion, 2014 ―76.9 billion

Web Based Apps are still considered the easiest way to maximum reach, and lowest app TCO mobile devices need good browsers... iOS (iPhone,

iPad, etc) improve JavaScript execution speed Android improved its rendering capability BlackBerry moved to WebKit (like iOS and Android) recently, Microsoft Windows Phone announced their

new IE Mobile 9 browser will be available in the second half of 2011

Source – K. Quigley Continued

MEDIA ON MOBILE DISPLAYSMAY 2011 UPDATE, CONTINUED

Mobile adoption is accelerating, and the mechanisms of information delivery are necessarily moving to mobile friendly modalities more and more (i.e. texting, alerts, multimedia messaging (MMS), etc.

Video Conferencing is now mainstream on mobile devices -for example, Apple Facetime on iPad2 and iPhone4 is amazing

Source – K. Quigley

NATIVE APPS VS WEB APPS Native app

1. Rich use of select device features

2. Require one for each of

Apple Android Blackberry webOS

3. Engraved in stone and time trapped

Web app1. Not-yet-rich use of all

device features; exciting and imminent developments

2. One app to fit all platforms

3. Fluid for developments and currency

IT (MOODLE) CONTEXT

Computing has progressed …

From keypunch to DOS

From DOS to GUIFrom GUI to Mobile

Each progression level has empowered new people to become successful users. And each time, fewer technical demands are requisite to such successful usage.

… more drivers and fewer mechanics!

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group; www.w3.org Mobile Computing.com; www.mobilecomputing.com Internet and Mobile Computing Laboratory;

http://www4.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~imc/imc/doku.php Search http://mobilecomputing.com/

Continued

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? CONTINUED

search http://www.techtarget.com/ Education Week Leadership Forums;

www.edweekevents.org/engage-with-your-peers Books on mobile computing; www.target.com/ search

term – mobile computing books What have we learned? (blogs on iPads in learning)

http://blogs.vassar.edu/ipad/

USER DEMAND (STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY)

Megan “starred in, wrote the screenplay, created the visuals, did the editing, produced, directed and distributed her digital story”

Used the process to rid her bed of monsters

She was 5 years old Written 1994

USER DEMAND (STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY)

My Grand daughter, Morgan

1st computer experience – clapping and cheering within 5 minutes

Reader Rabbit – demo

Desktop mental construct

Born 1997

AGE AND GENERATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS

By birth year range (with some overlaps) …1945 – 1965 – Baby BoomersMid 1960s to early 1980s – Generation X1977 – 1997- Next Generation, aka Generation Y, Gen Y, Millennial1994 – 2004 Generation Z (Born Digital)June 2011 grade 12 graduates’ possible birth year―1993Megan may have entered post-secondary―2007Fall 2012 – look for Generation Z incoming students, maybe staff; faculty shortly after

USER DEMAND

Ask not, “What can mobile users do to support your IT?”

Ask not, “Will mobile users tolerate less-than-winning-quality Moodle?”

Photo - http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy

Ask, “Can your school do without mobile users?”

MOBILE COMPUTING: WEB APPS AND MOODLE

Questions? Comments! Thanks Bill Fricker Bonne Journee Strategies 7908 – 149A Ave Edmonton, AB, T5C 2X2

www.bonnejourneestrategies.com

780-473-1034 office/home

780-909-0046 cell 780-637-4994 fax VC - 206.75.230.46 Skype - bill.fricker1