For years, most Web teams have designed for the desktop. Mobile, if it even happened, was a port off the desktop version, designed and built before anyone even considered the mobile experience. This made perfect sense for a while. Browsing the Web on mobile phones was painful; carriers controlled access to the Web on their devices; and mobile network speeds made everything often grind to a halt.

But things have changed so dramatically over the past few years that starting with the desktop may be an increasingly backwards way of thinking about a Web product. Designing for mobile first can not only open up new opportunities for growth, it can lead to a better overall user experience for a Web site or application.

In this presentation, Luke Wroblewski will dig into the three key reasons to consider mobile first: mobile is seeing explosive growth; mobile forces you to focus; and mobile extends your capabilities.

One of the biggest buzz phrases of 2011 has been “responsive web design,” an emerging practice centered around creating designs that “anticipate and respond to users’ needs.” With the surge in mobile and tablet devices, this approach has a lot of value. But what about the substance that those designs support: the content. This prompts two questions: one, what adjustments should we make for our content in a responsive design world, and two, what does (or should) “responsive content” mean? In this presentation, I will discuss some of the answers to these questions, including content for the mobile and location-sensitive web, the print-web dichotomy, and how content responds across the life cycle of our higher ed audience. Experience Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of topic and some experience. Prerequisite Knowledge: An understanding of the basic definition of responsive design Basic understanding of content creation and maintenance practices
Skills/Knowledge Gained: Understanding of how to shape content in a responsive design context Understanding of possible interpretations of "responsive content" and how to apply them.

Nikki Massaro Kauffman and Alice Shapiro want to give you some new jQuery toys--and it's not even your birthday! In this session, we'll show you the jQuery features we've implemented into the World Campus course CMS, let you play with them, and then let you have the code. Our toybox for this session will include: - interactive, click-to-show content, - table-to-graph tools, - font resizing, - an expandable content window, - a simple slideplayer, - a glossary tool, - an image watermarking, - clickable thumbnails, - clickable captions, and - automatic anchor and back-to-top navigation. Spend a session playing with us; we promise we'll share! Experience Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of topic and some experience. Prerequisite Knowledge: Knowledge of CSS and jQuery. Skills/Knowledge Gained: Attendees will leave this presentation with actually jQuery scripts that they can modify and integrate into their content management systems.

This session will explore the World Campus approach to streaming video delivery on mobile device platforms such as iOS and Android. As more and more content is delivered to mobile devices, we need to develop strategies that ensure we are delivering a high quality product from a robust production environment. A brief presentation will take a look at the streaming environment we have developed based on the Flash Media Server platform including some insight into some of the choices we have made in its implementation and the processes we have developed to deliver high quality video to a range of devices, including mobile. The presentation will feature an overview of our development and delivery environment as well as our reasoning behind our mobile strategy. A demonstration of our encoding and delivery process will follow, featuring techniques that the audience can take away and implement immediately. We will wrap up with an audience discussion about the future of mobile streaming video in higher education and potential opportunities for collaboration and expertise sharing around the university.

Experience Level:
Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of topic and some experience.

Prerequisite Knowledge:
Interest in Video Support on Mobile Devices.

Skills/Knowledge Gained:
Audience will take away code for progressive mobile html5 iOS fallback video delivery (with Google Analytics for video usage tracking), as well as knowledge about strategies to consider when planning for mobile video support in Higher Education.

With mobile devices embracing HTML 5 instead of say flash, it will be more important to start using HTML 5 sooner than later. Learn what you can do with it. Experience Level:
Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic. Prerequisite Knowledge: HTML
Skills/Knowledge Gained: Using HTML 5 today

Mobile devices have opened a new world to the content developer and programmer. Should you use HTML5 or a native app? What screen size do you plan for? Which OS will win out? These are all questions that vex an application developer as they consider how best to create a project. During this session, we will give an overview of the questions and the answers that the Adobe Web Premium tools offer. Whether you want to deliver an app-like experience in the browser or you want to create a native app for a specific device, there are several way to do it. Come see what they and the best practices for creating mobile apps. The good news is that there is something for everyone—the long-time programmer or the non-techncial publisher.

The conference committee has planned an exceptional Monday evening reception at the Hintz Alumni Center where you may connect with colleagues, make new friends, and appreciate one of Penn State's finest venues. Partake in delicious food provided by Harrison's, dance and relax amongst friends or stroll the spectacular gardens featuring a tranquil pond accented with fish and ducks. 

Amuse yourself with the entertainment options which will include piano music, a band for dancing, gaming and more. The reception is open to all attendees and you will be asked to sign up during the registration process (if you have already registered, you can still add the reception and/or purchase a ticket for an adult guest by using the link and confirmation number provided in your confirmation email).

Images are crucial to a great website but often web managers have no training in selecting or editing photos. What is the difference in a good photo and one that wows? Are your photos truly telling the story of your organization? How do we best use professional photographers, stock photography, staff photos and user-generated content? Taught by a content strategist trained in photojournalism, this session will help you answer the above questions and discover what is most attractive to users based on eye-tracking research. We will discuss how to avoid the pitfalls that lead to problematic photos on websites. Photos on mobile devices will also be addressed. You will be sure to walk away with practical suggestions to cultivate better photography on your website. Resources for further learning will be provided. Note: This session will not cover details of the use of photo editing software. Instead it will focus on the decision making process and cultivating better content.

Experience Level:
Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic.

Prerequisite Knowledge:
None required.

Skills/Knowledge Gained:

• Understand the difference between a good and a great photo
• Improve use of stock photography, photography professionals, staff photos and user content (when to use, problems to avoid)
• Make sure your photos tell the message of your organization 
• What is most attractive to website viewers based on eye-tracking research
• Avoid common pitfalls that lead a website to look less professional
• Understand photo issues on mobile devices
• Resources for further learning.

From the early dice games of ancient Greece to modern geo-location games and Angry Birds: games have long been part of human history. No matter the situation or environment, the urge to play crosses all boundaries – and that urge is growing. More than 174 million Americans are gamers, and the average young person in the United States will spend more than ten thousand hours gaming by the age of 21. As games evolve from their simplest forms into the more complex constructs of modern day, we can see reflected back at us the values, experiences and expectations of generations. Our challenge, then, is to realize how we can use these dynamics in the Web world to, put simply, win. This presentation explores important lessons we can learn from the gaming qualities that compel us, how the game layer is a game *changer* for how we communicate and carry out tasks, and how our websites can apply game-based tactics to fulfill student needs and achieve institutional goals ... all while having a little fun. Experience Level: Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic. Prerequisite Knowledge: Basic knowledge of communication methods and game mechanics is helpful, but not necessary. Skills/Knowledge Gained: - Understanding of basic game mechanics - Identification of the game layer and how it is currently functioning in current media - Knowledge of how gaming has influenced our core audience's expectations, and brainstorming thoughts on how we might meet those expectations

What do we mean when we talk about "the web"? When we write policies, hire employees, define unit responsibilities and assess organizational needs, it is helpful to start with a solid and shared understanding of the different pieces that make up today's higher education web sites. This presentation aims to improve all these activities by proposing a definition of the distinct pieces that we can share across our institutions to improve how we govern the web. Once that is established, the framework will be applied to these other activities. Experience Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of topic and some experience. Prerequisite Knowledge:
Understand the broad purposes for which colleges and universities engage the web today. Skills/Knowledge Gained:
Gain a tool that can be used to mentally break down a web issue into its constituent pieces and assess needs, describe responsibilities, and write effective policies.