To make Purdue information even more accessible, the university's Office of Marketing and Media on Thursday (May 27) announced a new Purdue iPhone application.
The free app features a campus map and list of building locations, university news stories, and event listings. Users can search for people in the university directory as well as watch videos from the Purdue YouTube channel. Extras, such as "Hail Purdue!" also are available.
Joan Fulton, professor of agricultural economics and chair of the University Senate for 2010-11, thinks the new app will be useful for campus visitors as well as those at Purdue.
"It's wonderful to think about the incoming freshman class and their parents having the app to help them navigate the campus," she says. "As features are added over time, I'm excited to see how these new functions will make other day-to-day interactions at Purdue easier."
A new Web page at http://www.purdue.edu/mobile highlights the application's features through a series of screen shots. It also provides a link to download the app from the iTunes store. Users also can find the http://www.purdue.edu/mobile page from a button on the Purdue home page at http://www.purdue.edu
"As our office seeks to provide useful information about the university in easily usable formats, we look continually at the varied and changing ways our audiences are obtaining information," says Martin Sickafoose, director of online experience and emerging technologies.
"By offering an iPhone app as a first step, we are making a push toward mobile marketing that will include making our website easier to access through any smart phone and offering our audiences ways to find Purdue information no matter where they are."
The new app is currently available only for iPhone, but future mobile marketing will include availability for other mobile devices as well as a mobile website for the university.