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Last modified: Wednesday, September 2, 2009

IU Mobile service launched to help smartphone users access IU information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 3, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has launched IU Mobile, a Web service designed specifically for smartphones and similar mobile devices.

The URL is simply m.iu.edu, and the service offers convenient online access to information about IU and all its campuses, including news, campus alerts, a student and staff address directory and Oncourse, the university's collaboration and learning environment.

IU Mobile

"IU Mobile is an early accomplishment in Empowering People, IU's Strategic Plan for IT," said Barry Walsh, IU associate vice president for enterprise software. "Students, faculty, staff and alumni are increasingly using mobile devices, and they want to be able to access information and perform transactions through these devices."

The use of handheld devices to access digital information has boomed in recent years, and the technology has become hugely popular with IU students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors. For smartphone users, IU Mobile provides a user-friendly alternative to Web interfaces that were designed for desktop and laptop computers.

Along with news and alerts, a directory and Oncourse, the service will provide direct access to:

  • Current computer availability in Student Technology Centers
  • Emergency contact information
  • A search tool for searching IU libraries and the UITS Knowledge Base
  • Bus schedules and, to be added soon, campus maps
  • Additional services based on input from the IU community

IU worked with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, building from its mobi.mit.edu, to develop the service. IU's University Information Technology Services (UITS) produced the IU Mobile interface in partnership with The IU Office of Creative Services. Brian McGough, director of enterprise software for UITS, is the project manager.

While a single IT architecture underlies IU Mobile, the interface is customized to work well with a variety of digital devices. UITS is developing the service to work with all Web-enabled phones.

The service asks for feedback, giving users a way to request additional services for IU Mobile and to make suggestions for the continued development of the service. "We want to cultivate a culture of continuous innovation for mobility at IU," said McGough.

For more information, see https://kb.iu.edu/data/mobi.html.