In response to issues surrounding how the MyUW website functions on mobile devices, UW Information Technology (UW-IT) launched a mobile website Tuesday.
The mobile-friendly website knows which mobile device students are using when they access the site.
“[MyUW Mobile is] mobile-friendly that is targeted for students to support their class activities and participation when they’re on the go,” said Karin Roberts, UW-IT assistant director of the academic and collaborative applications department.
Roberts said the number of people who access MyUW from their mobile devices has doubled in recent years. As a result, the new MyUW has been in the works since spring. Students will be able to get their course information, email their instructors, use the map to locate classes, find and purchase textbooks, and access course websites on the new webpage.
Roberts said once UW-IT had a prototype, they recruited students to test it.
“It was a mix of students that had used MyUW before and those who had never used MyUW before,” said Greg Koester, project manager at UW-IT’s academic and collaborative applications department.
Koester said First Year Programs had a hand in getting UW-IT in contact with new students for the second round of testing.
Koester said a lot feedback was not from students, but rather from UW services such as the financial aid office and other programs. Members of these services informed UW-IT that a beginning-of-the-quarter release might hinder the ability of these programs to work smoothly for incoming students. This, along with having some last-minute touches to finalize, made the release October instead of the beginning of the quarter.
Future additions may include priority notifications for alerts like tuition deadlines. After one to two months of user feedback, UW-IT will look at other adjustments that need to be made as well.
The MyUW mobile project is part of the broader “Two Years to Two Decades” project aimed at improving UW technology to thrive in the 21st century. The project is intended to help the UW keep up with trends within the UW community.
Reach reporter Deanna Isaacs at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @DeeLiteraryOne
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