Transcript Driving Content to a Mobile Platform

App impact on long-term Net viability
 Production issues in developing apps
versus browser-based learning modules
 Options for learners and developers to
consider.
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From Horizon Report to just looking in
your pocket, it is clear we need to move
our courses and learning modules to
mobile access to remain competitive
and available to our learner audiences.
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What is the impact of the attraction of
proprietary applications…?
…such as iPhone or Droid apps…
Learners expect easy access, but don’t
recognize “free” applications vs. Web
browser-based access.
 Nor do they difference between the
Web as an access tool and the Internet
as a transport.
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Those of us producing learning apps
should take into account the impact of
choosing Apps vs. Open Net access.
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The controversy rages about the true
impact of proprietary apps compared to
all the other functions for which the
Internet provides transport.
Will these new and proprietary learning
applications out-compete browserbased applications?
 Will the impact on Internet access longterm be positive or negative?
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Digital world is moving from wide-open
Web to platforms or apps that use the
Internet for transport
 These platforms just work better or fit in
our lives…and we’re willing to pay
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Are we driving to a post-HTML
environment?
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Web 2.0 is just Web 1.0 that works.
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Constant Power Struggle
› Netscape tried to own the homepage
› Amazon tries to dominate retail
› Yahoo tries to provide basic Web navigation
But Google—working in the open
environment—dominates
 Why?
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Because they give us what we want!
 What else does that?
 Proprietary Apps … Tens of millions of
consumers are voting with their wallets
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Horizon Report--Morgan Stanley
› In less than five years…much less some will
say…people accessing the Internet from
mobile devices will far out surpass those
accessing from desktops.
Smartphones are hard to see and
use…but fast beats flexible.
 If we have to pay for what we
want…increasingly that seems okay.
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Our consumers…even in
education…who “want what they want
when they want it” will require us to
compete.
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With Google and Apple dominating,
what specifically does it take to
compete?
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Let’s take a look at our efforts to develop
an Apple-acceptable app.
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Chris LaBelle and his team developed
the first Oregon State University mobile
app available on iTunes.
2010 – The mobile landscape
 Native iPhone Tree tour application
 Objective C, SQL, Xcode
 Lots of work on understanding
interpreting place using mobile device
 Form factor, user behavior, navigation
 Software development with high entry
barriers
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Web as the content accessible via our
browser over port 80 (data grid)
 Definition of “app” has broken down
 Written in Objective C or Java (native)?
 Do apps use “push” technology (web
data pushed to device)?
 Is app “walled” off from others?
 Are apps focused on specific tasks or
domains?
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HTML5, Javascript/jQuery, CSS and APIs
 Write once, use many times
 Powerful media queries for form factor
 Web app: Client-side data storage,
offline activity, bookmarking
 Native via PhoneGaP /Titanium
(geolocation, accelerometer, sound,
vibration)
 So, what’s the big deal?
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Corporate versus Individual Control
(Rushkoff, Shery Turkle)
 i.e. H.264 versus WebM, iTunes versus
Webapp
 What is the implication of corporate
control of more web infrastructure for
education?
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This is all part of the “good enough”
syndrome.
Slow YouTube for Free beats the paying
Comcast for QoS
 Paying a small amount (or nothing) for
proprietary access beats the fees to a
net “owner.”
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When it comes to apps that run on the
Net, people are starting to choose QoS
on an app by app decision
Can we still use the open Net for
Education in this consumer-driven
environment?
 Can we deliver in the “what I want when
I want it” world?
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Even as the proprietary apps dominate,
can we recapture the open Web for
Education?
 Will HTML5 provide app-like flexibility on
the open Net?
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http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
eesc/tools/presentation-archive
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[email protected]
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