Create Mobile iOS and Android Apps for Your

District

The Digital Education and Technology Exchange

2014 Steve Young, Chief Technology Officer

Judson ISD syoung@judsonisd.org

@atemyshorts

Why Did We Go Mobile? • Our Google analytics had our mobile traffic at

>10% of site visits. • 14% for January 2013 • 17 % for April 2014 • More people (both parents & students) are

surfing via mobile than ever before • Mobile traffic growing at a dramatic rate and has

huge upside growth potential

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mary-meeker-re-imagines-nearly-everything.php?utm_source=pulsenews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29

Smartphones & Tablets will Help Drive Mobile

• Smart phone adoption continues to grow at huge rates: – 2011 – Smart phones accounted for 42% of all phones

in the United States (up from 27% in 2010) (Workforce Management, June 2012)

– 2012 – Smart phones account for 48% of the United States’ 172 million mobile subscribers (Mary Meeker, Analyst at KPCB, 12/2012).

– 2014 -- Smart phones account for 66% of the United States’ mobile subscribers (Mashable, 02/13/2014)

• And tablet growth is surging - 29% of U.S. Adults own a tablet or eReader (like a Kindle) — up from 2% in 2009 (Mary Meeker, Analyst at KPCB, 12/2012).

• Tablets are here to stay, but we have not seen anything yet….

http://www.fabriqate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/fabriqate-enterprise-apps-statistics-2011-infographic1.png

http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/interactive/mobile-share-of-web-traffic-jumped-in-q4-2012-26057/attachment/walkersands-percent-web-traffic-mobile-devices-q42011-q42012-jan2013/

http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/desktop-mobile.png

Ignoring mobile could increasingly mean you are ignoring a constituency

But why develop an App? • Mobile users increasingly prefer to consume

mobile web via apps…. • This can be seen in huge app boom across

Android and iOS • Users are now spending more time using mobile

apps – Albeit a lot of that is using Angry Birds, Facebook and other

related apps

• Mobile apps are easier to access and more convenient than mobile web

Source http://cdn.infographicsarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/should-you-build-a-mobile-app-or-mobile-website-550x1438.png

By March 2013 – US consumers now spend an average of 2 hours and 42 minutes a day on their mobile device!

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/109749/Apps-Solidify-Leadership-Six-Years-into-the-Mobile-Revolution

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/109749/Apps-Solidify-Leadership-Six-Years-into-the-Mobile-Revolution

2 hours 19 minutes Per day

Ok – So We Need an App, but We Don’t Know How to Make One

• You don’t need a high paid app programmer • There are several web-based rapid web

development tools that let you repurposed existing web content and data into a mobile app

• Some of there tools are so easy, even a CTO or teacher can make an app!

• Your existing webmaster and/or other staff can easily develop and maintain the app

Advantages of Web Based App Development Tools

• They let you roll out or make changes to an app quickly

• They usually utilize existing web content, like social media feeds and RSS feeds

• Require less or no programming knowledge than writing an app from scratch

Non-Technical Sites To Assist School in Developing Mobile Apps

• Como (formerly Conduit Mobile) - http://www.como.com/ • School Connect - http://www.schoolconnectservices.com/ (this is

an app that contains many school districts in one app)

• Appsbuilder - http://www.apps-builder.com/en/home • Buildanapp - http://www.buildanapp.com/home • Mobile Roadie - https://mobileroadie.com/ • DUB Labs - http://dublabs.com/ • Codiqa - https://codiqa.com/ (HTML 5)

como • Free or low cost • Easy to use • Publishes to both major app platforms • Demo of and

Como live build of a district app

Caveats

• Just like a web site, you need great content before you can make a great app

• App publishing to both app stores does cost $$ • Custom graphics for branding and app promotion

need to be created for both app stores • The app publishing process can be confusing

(especially for iOS) • Apple requires a Mac for the final app publish

Content for Your App • Events, social media, news, photos, calendars,

menus, sports schedules • Can use push notifications • Bully and crime reporting • More advanced: grades, attendance, etc. • Or segment your app:

– Athletics App – Band App – Newspaper App

Judson ISD Connect! App made for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle tablets

Award Winning http://www.judsonisd.org/district/technology/jisd_mobile.cfm

Judson ISD Connect Parent Center • Parent Center is the core driver of our

app (grades, attendance, meals, transportation, library, etc.)

• Out 670,688 logins to Parent Center for the 2012-2013 school year, 205,813 were mobile, or 31%

• For August 2013 – May 2014, out of 774,204 logins, 350,217 were mobile, or 45%

• 14% year over year increase

Judson ISD Connect Installs

Let’s Build An App Demo of using como to build an app

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http://my.como.com/

More Info & Questions

• Please contact: – Steve Young syoung@judsonisd.org – Twitter: @atemyshorts

Como coupon code for Digital Education and Technology Exchange attendees. Good for 50% OFF the Gold Yearly Plan.

Coupon Code: como50off