Drexel Launches Mobile Web Portal for Students

  • 03/01/04
##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->

In what may be the nation's first mobile Web portal for students, Philadelphia's Drexel University is bringing anywhere, anytime information access to handheld devices with DrexelOne Mobile. As a Web-based portal, DrexelOne Mobile provides students and faculty at the private university with access to e-mail, news, announcements and grades from their handheld devices, regardless of brand or service provider.

Powered by SCT Banner and Luminis technologies, DrexelOne Mobile essentially pushes information to students and faculty that register their mobile devices with the portal. Once registered, they are notified when a new personal announcement is posted for them. This means that students are notified when a professor posts a grade or if a hold has been placed on their records. The result is that students stay informed and are able to address problems or errors as soon as they arise.

According to John A. Bielec, Drexel's vice president of information resources and technology and CIO, the idea behind portals is to aggregate easy-to-use administrative and academic services to keep students and faculty well informed and well served. But DrexelOne Mobile g'es beyond this premise, according to Bielec, "The idea behind the mobile portal is to apply to the realm of university services the same forces that are shaping external information sites: mobility, immediacy and convenience."

Faculty and students are responding well to DrexelOne Mobile, with the main site receiving about 1.2 million page views per day, according to Bielec. Student organizations are also making themselves known on the popular portal, which they see as the "beachfront property" of the Web community for Drexel students.

Drexel plans to continue aggregating university services into the portal so that services which aren't currently online, such as the parking permit lottery, can be integrated into the portal. This will ensure that Drexel faculty and students remain connected - wirelessly, that is. - Annamaria DiGiorgio

Featured

  • stylized human profiles, tablets, and floating icons

    From Feedback to Flexibility: 5 AI Tools Teachers Should Try

    As a fifth-grade teacher and AI School Champion in the St. Vrain Valley School District, I've seen firsthand how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education. Here are five AI-enabled tools I've found especially powerful in my classroom and professional practice.

  • computer monitor with a bold AI search bar on the screen

    Google Rolls Out AI Mode in Search

    About a year after introducing AI Overviews for its flagship search offering, Google has announced broad availability of AI Mode in Search.

  • portable Wi-Fi hotspot rests on a stack of books and a laptop in a library

    Senate Votes to Rescind E-Rate Program Funding Loaner WiFi Hotspots for Schools and Libraries

    The Senate has passed a joint resolution to overturn "Addressing the Homework Gap Through the E-Rate Program," a July 2024 expansion to the FCC's E-Rate program that allowed schools and libraries to utilize E-Rate resources to loan out WiFi hotspots to students, school staff, and library patrons.

  • silhouetted student stands before the White House, surrounded by abstract digital graphics of brains, circuits, and AI elements

    White House Sets Sights on AI Education

    A new executive order from President Donald Trump aims to advance America's position in artificial intelligence technology by incorporating AI into education and providing AI training for educators.