The JHUMobile application was launched this past Monday to better connect the Hopkins community to various institutions and online programs associated with the University.
The application has myriad capabilities; the current available modules include
Courses, Maps, Places, Tours, Transit, Library, News, Images, Videos, Events, Emergency, Athletics, Academic Calendar, Hopkins Groups and SGA. The various modules facilitate the constant transfer of information to students.
“JHUMobile gives you access to many of the resources on the go and in an easy to use fashion,” senior Kirk Sabnani, Senior Senator and Chair of the Student Services Committee and JHUMobile Ad hoc Committee, wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
The idea to launch a mobile application has been in the works all year.
“I brought up the idea in an informal discussion with members of the SGA last Spring Semester and we brought it up again this past fall. The final concept incorporated a lot of ideas, mostly from SGA’s JHUMobile Ad hoc Committee,” Sabnani wrote.
Student Technology Services (STS) collaborated with BlackBoard
to create the application, expanding upon a framework that BlackBoard created.
“STS and SGA collaboratively gathered all of the information. STS created the graphics seen in the application and all of the middleware that allows this information to stay up to date,” Steve Presser, the Technical Lead of JHUMobile of STS, wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
The application promotes the constant connection of students to traditionally online resources. The Courses capability, for example, allows students to browse and bookmark course catalogs.
Transportation is also made more accessible through the application. The Transit module allows you track the Blue Jay Shuttle, Collegetown Shuttle and JHMI.
The JHUMobile application has been embraced by students, with at least 1,200 installations on iOS and Android within the first 48 hours of its release.
“At least 2,500 people read the launch email. Since about half of the people in our age range own a smartphone, this means we’ve had a very strong response among students,” Presser wrote.
The JHU Mobile application is now available only to students with iOS or Android, but a version for BlackBerry is forthcoming.
It is also slated to expand to the internet as well so that students who do not have smartphones can utilize the new capabilities. Presser confirmed that a mobile web version is coming.
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