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What are the essential tools that every IT person should have in the modern IT world? That is the idea behind a new Kingston University module called IT Toolbox. Over a 12 week semester, first year students will be guided through a series of activities such as blogging, running a server, client and server side scripting, search, social networking and problem solving. Each of those activities will be published here and anyone is welcome to join in.

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Toolbox Activity 7: Exploring the mobile web

Written by: Jonathan Briggs

November 17, 2009 [2528 views]

This activity is in a new area, mobile, and I hope you will find it interesting. I have deliverately made the activity a bit more open ended so that those of you have found the previous activities too easy should really be able to get your teeth into this one.

In this activity I want you to start to explore the mobile web and in part 2 to build your own simple mobile web site. This part 2 is fairly straightforward and so I recommend it for those looking to maximise their module marks.

Deadline: Monday 23th, November, midnight

During this activity students will

  1. Research what is happening within the mobile web
  2. Use an emulator (or their phone) to evaluate some mobile sites
  3. Consider how mobile web services and apps differ from other web sites
  4. Design their own mobile site using a site builder

Part 1

Research the mobile web making a note of some of the changes that are coming. Here are some links to help you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_web
http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/
http://www.apple.com/iphone
http://code.google.com/android/

And if you get seriously interested...

http://phonegap.com/
http://gamesalad.com/
http://www.appcelerator.com/

If you have a mobile that connects to the web then you can try Part 1 using your own phone but most developers use an emulator on the web. Your first task is to make sure that you can run one or more of the following emulators. If you are on a PC this may require you to install the Java Runtime System which is worth installing anyway (just follow the instructions and trust the people behind it).

Here are some emulators for you to explore.

http://mtld.mobi/emulator.php?emulator=nokiaN70
http://www.opera.com/mini/demo/
iPhoney for Mac only

And if you are seriously interested in Mobile:

Google Android emulator
iPhone Developers SDK (Mac only)

Have a look at the following sites using one or more of these emulators and then answer the questions below:

www.bbc.co.uk (notice that the bbc automatically knows that you are on a mobile)
www.jonathanbriggs.com/toolbox
www.kingston.ac.uk
www.tfl.gov.uk and wap.tfl.gov.uk (compare the difference)
www.amazon.co.uk
www.marketquarter.com
some of your favorites

Questions to answer (make notes as you go through these)
  1. Which emulator did you choose for your testing?
  2. Which of the sites you have looked at provided a reasonable/good experience for the mobile user?
  3. What was wrong with the sites that did not work well? (be as specific as you can be)
  4. Why is the mobile internet different from the normal web? (mention as many differences as you can)
  5. Describe the differences between mobile web sites and mobile web apps?
  6. Describe the types of services and apps that people want from the mobile internet (especially those that you don't think yet exist)?
  7. What changes must site developers make to web sites to make them useful on the mobile?
  8. What do you think is likely to change over the next few years in relation to use of the web on mobile devices?
  9. What technical or business questions do you have about the mobile web?

Here is the link to feedback your answers to part 1: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/207313/toolbox-7-1

Part 2

Now that you have explored some mobile sites you should design one for yourself using a service from Mobisitegalore.

http://www.mobisitegalore.com/

1. This is a bit like building your blog in wordpress and needs some thought and planning first.

2. You should decide on a structure such as

Main menu, About me, Latest news, Favorite things, Useful links

3. Sign up for Mobistesgalore and build your site (at least 6 pages)
4. Extend you site with images, links and perhaps a form. Make sure that you experiment enough to be able to demonstrate that you have really understood how to build a mobile site: that means at least 6 pages!
5. Check your site using an emulator or your phone

Answer the following questions
  1. What is the URL of your mobile site?
  2. What difficulties if any did you have with this exercise and how did you overcome them?
  3. How would you like to expand your site?
  4. How useful would a site like this be to a small business?
  5. What other aspects of mobile would you like to explore?
  6. What questions were raised by this activity?

Here is the link to feedback your answers for part 2:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/207315/toolbox-7-2

Recent comments:

On November 18, 2009 at 12:40 AM, ZAZi wrote:

Hi I want to ask something that does not have to do with this assignment. Are we going to have an assessment for this module? If yes, when is it going to be?

Jonathan replies: You'll be pleased to know that the activities ARE the assessment and if you have been keeping up you will have already effectively passed the module.

On November 18, 2009 at 12:47 PM, Andrew wrote:

hi Jonathan just like to know where will i find the link for Shopify.com so that i can sign up without a credit card.

http://app.shopify.com/services/signup/new/trial?ref=jonathanbriggs

Jonathan replies: I've posted the link in the URL above.

On November 21, 2009 at 12:06 PM, Sabena Ali wrote:

Deadline: Monday 25th, November, midnight

Just wanted to know when is the deadline for this assigment? Is it on Monday 23rd, November, midnight
OR
Wednesday 25th, November, midnight?
Thank you

Jonathan replies: Oops - all deadlines are Monday, midnight so - its the 23rd!

On November 21, 2009 at 5:55 PM, kahlown haad wrote:

For this activity i needed to certain information about the IP server and when i asked 600host they said that they could not access it so i choosed option 1 which meant that the website provided me with a domain name , then i asked another person on that chat and they told me that it was possible to do something now i cannot change my options so is it alright if i stick to that

Jonathan replies: yes

On November 22, 2009 at 10:01 AM, James Sammut wrote:

Hi, ive seen a few people posting their site on here, and even though mine is far from finished i thought i would put it up here too, hope thats ok,

http://www.jsammut.co.uk/

thanks

http://www.jsammut.co.uk/

Jonathan replies: Of course its ok! Hope it helps start some traffic.

On November 22, 2009 at 8:10 PM, Mohit Mehta wrote:

For question 2 what box do we tick if the webpage comes up as normal on our mobiles like jonathanbriggs.com

Jonathan replies: I think you should be able to guess that the "OK" option is the one to tick.

On November 23, 2009 at 10:57 AM, Barry Rogers wrote:

Will you be running any more modules in the next couple of years? If so what will they be?

Jonathan replies: I run eCommerce in the final year and am also involved with a new Social Computing module in the same year. Happy to stay in touch with students even when I am not teaching them directly!

On November 23, 2009 at 5:25 PM, Yusuf Abdi wrote:

I would like to give a suggestion that I noticed on the site. When I click on a link, the link opens on the same page as the site, and sometime I close the other site assuming that it is opened in a another window. It is annoying sometimes because I have to come on the site again.
Hope the comment helps.

And this is my blog; enjoy!

Thank you

http://yusufcom.com/blog/

Jonathan replies: It's a big issue - whether sites should open new pages and interestingly its a problem for mobile.

On November 25, 2009 at 9:18 PM, Suj wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

I have submitted (7.1) 4 times now, but still i am not getting a reciept for it. Just worried why is it happening like that.

Thanks

Jonathan replies: I can see your submissions are fine - check your spam filter.

On November 29, 2009 at 2:29 PM, sam wrote:

Hi Jonathan!
i have been late for Activity 7. Will i pass this activity if i submit after the deadline?
Cheers!

Jonathan replies: yes

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