July 19, 2011
(Santa Ana) - Santa Ana College (SAC) has launched a new mobile website that offers easy access from any smartphone. When a student or prospective student accesses www.sac.edu from his or her smartphone, the site automatically redirects the browser to the new mobile site.
"We are excited to embrace this new technology," said Norm Fujimoto, vice president of academic affairs at Santa Ana College. "Our students and would be students are constantly accessing information through their mobile devices and we want to satisfy their needs for quick and simply navigated information about the college."
The SAC mobile site was developed through a partnership with Santa Ana College, Textopoly, Inc., and its higher education innovation group—Republic of Digital. The mobile site evolved through the collaborative efforts of the Republic of Digital team, student intern Andrew O'Melia and the SAC Web Committee.
Since 2007, O'Melia has been enrolled part-time in the college‟s digital media program. With 12 years experience as a graphic designer, he is working on his associate degree with plans to transfer to a four-year university.
During his three-month internship, O'Melia helped design the mobile site's user interface elements and the graphics for the header bar. Textopoly and Republic of Digital's, internship program helped incorporate a real-world project into an invaluable experience for O'Melia. He was front and center when the final designs were presented by the Republic of Digital team to the clients—members of the SAC Web Committee.
"Since working on the SAC mobile site, I've really fallen in love with the process of designing and developing interactive media," said O'Melia. "I's not something I could have learned in the classroom and I‟m now working as creative director with two application development companies."
The mobile site features quick access to many of the most popular links on www.sac.edu, including a campus map Google API, phone directory, class schedules, Webadvisor, library information, safety and security guidelines, continuing education information, counseling scheduling, help and frequently asked questions, plus "click to call" phone numbers and links to the college‟s Twitter and Facebook pages.
"It's vital to think about a mobile site as not a simple shrunken version of the desktop site, but instead to wrap strategy and genuine insight around the build of the mobile site from the perspective of the user," said Naushad Huda, CEO of Textopoly.
The site is compatible with mobile browsers found on a range of devices, including Android, iPhone, iPod, iPad, and BlackBerry. Since the mobile site has gone live, Android devices and iPhones top the list of devices accessing the new site.
According to Morgan Stanley, the volume of mobile users will outstrip the number of desktop Internet users by 2014. According to a report by Gomez, 52 percent of consumers are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble accessing by phone. What is even worse—40 percent said they would likely visit a competitor‟s website instead.
About the Rancho Santiago Community College District
The mission of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) is to respond to the educational needs of an ever-changing community and to provide programs and services that reflect academic excellence. Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of RSCCD, which serve the residents of Anaheim Hills, East Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Villa Park. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, customized training for business and industry, and programs to train nurses, firefighters and law enforcement personnel.
About Republic of Digital & Textopoly, Inc.
Textopoly is a multi-award winning mobile marketing and advertising agency that concepts and executes customized campaigns for brands and agencies. Whether it is through SMS, the mobile Internet, Mobile Media or Apps, they bring the brand straight to the users. Textopoly has worked with brands including Yamaha, Google/Admob, Microsoft Advertising, Paramount Studios, Bluefly, Rutgers University, Kikkoman, NBC, Sports Club of LA and many more.
Republic of Digital is a higher education focused innovation group within Textopoly whose focus is to partner with educational institutions and bring next generation mobile strategies & solutions to better interact and communicate with their constituents. Visit ROD at www.republicofdigital.com.
# # # | 