The web community is diving into responsive web design with reckless abandon. And though our intentions are good, our users may be suffering from our lack foresight. The sites we're building may look great on a smart-phone, but the megabytes of data we require them to download is resulting in less than stellar experiences. As developers, we need to take it upon ourselves to provide our users with a performant experience while at the same time providing access to all of the content and information they would expect while on a larger-screen device. This session will discuss the wide variety of issues a developer should consider while building a responsive site, including lessons learned while building the latest Notre Dame (nd.edu) homepage.
Experience Level:
Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of topic and some experience.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
Familiarity with variety of web development technologies including CSS media queries, javascript and server-side languages.
Skills/Knowledge Gained:
Attendees will leave with an understanding of RESS techniques and best practices when creating a responsive site.
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
Social media and mobile devices have combined to help create the always-with-us, always-on, always-connected campus. Not just student-to-student but, importantly, institution/faculty/staff-to-student as well as staff-to-staff. We need to look beyond the silo-ed, one-way web sites of the past towards more personal, two-way applications that take advantage of this sea change on campus. The ways in which our users will want to interact with us, the types of tasks they’ll want to complete, and the types of devices we’ll want to deliver to will just continue to proliferate. Now is the time to reevaluate. Using lessons learned at a large land-grant institution we’ll look at what the future friendly campus might look like, ways to plant the seed of that change and tips on how to accomplish it. Experience Level: Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic. Prerequisite Knowledge: It's a high-level talk so no technical knowledge will be needed. Hopefully anyone from anywhere in a university can take lessons away from the talk. Skills/Knowledge Gained: A better appreciation for what it will take to migrate our processes from "traditional" thinking to one that addresses how our users will access our content in the future.
Mobile-friendly content at Penn State - and other universities - has become a necessity, as consumers continue to interface with the web via mobile devices. Penn State's mobile website, m.psu.edu, was launched during the summer 2011 semester, to help meet the demand for an ever increasing mobile audience. m.psu.edu provides essential Penn State information and services anytime, anywhere on one's mobile device, with an interface optimized for on-the-go access.
This session will cover details about the development of m.psu.edu, including the challenges of identifying content useful to users on the go, supporting a broad range of devices, engaging stakeholders, and building a governance system, as well as cover progress-to-date, new developments, and opportunities and challenges for future progress.
Prerequisite skills: none
Responsive design, application development using APIs, and content strategy are the hot topics in .edu right now. These ideas belong to a bigger umbrella: ubiquitous computing and the role it plays in our lives. Traditional ideas of usability are undergoing dynamic changes as we move away from a desktop-first model of personal computing. The internet refrigerator already exists and it's only the tip of the iceberg. In the near future, human-computer interactions will be thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. Postdesktop is a session to view responsive design as part of a larger context and to think about a shift that is changing the devices we use to access the web, the delivery method for education, the teaching and learning experience, and the whole of our lives. Topics will include a look at the role of pervasive computing:
• as it relates to responsive design
• in the classroom and textbooks
• in .edu marketing
• as a source of utility on campuses