Web 2012 at Penn State

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.

When embarking on a mobile application project you are faced with the decision of whether to build a native application for a specific device or a web applications. This session will discuss the capabilities of both native apps and web apps and how to decide which one is right for your organization. This includes coverages of technologies and libraries like jqtouch, senchatouch and jquery mobile which make building cross device mobile web apps easier to build. Experience Level: Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic. Prerequisite Knowledge: Audience should have a basic understanding of the mobile platforms and web technologies
Skills/Knowledge Gained: The audience will gain a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of creating native mobile applications vs mobile web applications. Attendees will learn different abilities of each approach and how to decide which is best for their organizations app.

Kids don't read. Kids don't scroll. Kids only look at pictures. Kids ignore pictures. Want to know how kids really use your website? There's one sure way to find out: watch some kids use your website. This session will focus on how to conduct usability tests and why you should. We'll walk through the process from beginning to end, look at the time and technologies needed, and discuss what to do with the results. We’ll look at video clips from usability sessions, and create a sample script for conducting your own tests. And we'll finish with some specific findings from some usability sessions conducted at the University of Rochester this year with current students and high school students. Experience Level: Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic. Prerequisite Knowledge:
Must have some experience with either designing and creating websites or website content development. Skills/Knowledge Gained: Attendees will learn what usability testing entails and how to do simple usability tests on their own sites with the audiences they care most about.

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

Overview of the mobile initiative undertaken at SAU using WordPress and other tools. Presentation will highlight useful plugins and discuss responsive design and theme frameworks. Experience Level:
Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of topic and some experience. Prerequisite Knowledge: Basic WordPress skills, knowledge of Extend and plugin installation. Skills/Knowledge Gained: How to quickly launch mobile-friendly content. Awareness of practical tools and budget-friendly methods.

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

With the flood of consumers using various media devices, web designers & developers now have to try and create products that will retain the same aesthetic look & feel on multiple platforms. With the screen real-estate ranging from a 27″ desktop monitor, 13″ laptop monitor set at a 800×600 video resolution, tablet devices like the iPad, and a plethora of mobile phones with a wide variety of sizes. However, by taking advantage of some of the new syntax, creatives can create a dynamic website that can alter a pages’ visual layout while still maintaining control of the overall user experience. This presentation will help explain the importance of why it is necessary to plan ahead to build an adaptive website versus just 'getting it done'. Experience Level:
Beginner - Assumes no prior knowledge of topic. Prerequisite Knowledge: basic understanding of the HTML, CSS; knowing JQuery knowledge isn't necessary but would behove the viewer. Skills/Knowledge Gained: Better understanding of CSS media queries, and better knowledge for HTML5 and CSS3 syntax