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Mobile Apps for Education | News

Student Creates Unsanctioned iPhone App for Cal Poly Pomona

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/09/10

A student at California State Polytechnic University Pomona has developed an iPhone app to provide news and information about his school after teaching himself iPhone programming from a book. Cal Poly Pomona Central, developed by Shawn Irvin, a computer information systems major, is available free in the iTunes store.

Irvin learned iPhone programming from Apress' Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK. The campus app took him about two weeks to develop.

Version 2.0 of the app includes the ability to browse articles from campus publications; pull up campus departments with location, phone, and fax; find athletic events and add them to the calendar; sign up for campus notifications; track homework, meetings, and reminders in a "My Notes" section; and get campus maps. But the feature that gets "the best reaction," he said, is one that allows users to find out what food is available on campus and whether or not the given restaurant is open at the time it's being viewed.

Although a number of campuses have released similar apps, Irvin said he only knows of two, "and I didn't need them to get inspiration." The program hasn't been officially sanctioned by the school, he added. "I've talked to many people [at Cal Poly Pomona], but nobody wants to take it on. It's always because of money."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.

Comments

Mon, Aug 16, 2010 Sam Joseph Honolulu

Perhaps more IT departments could release things in beta trials. No reason they couldn't collaborate with computer science departments to have students release mobile apps in beta or what not. However one of the main problems seems to be that all the course/student information is trapped in legacy applications that don't expose APIs for easy alternative client developments

Thu, Aug 12, 2010 C. Boston, MA

Let me add one thing to my prior comment. UNLIKE a University IT department, Shawn isn't compelled to support or maintain his product. The Faculty Union can't file a grievance against him if he omits a department, he doesn't care if he gets the school branding wrong or makes a typo. He's blissfully free of all the bureaucratic crap school IT departments have to worry about. My question: How can we free up school IT departments to experiment and create new tools without the burden of excessive responsibility? And, how can we take a great tool made by a student, and nurture and sustain it even after that student graduates?

Thu, Aug 12, 2010 C. Boston, MA

Sure, most university IT departments are overworked and understaffed--but that's only because they're also so incredibly inefficient! The real reason this simple task doesn't get done is because the campus IT group has to have 20 planning meetings where managers have to agree on fonts and colors and try to get buy-in from departments who drag their feet, afraid of new tech and new responsibilities for their secretaries, who refuse to make simple updates to calendars or web sites. Then once it's approved, the graphics team has to make the logos while some other guy does the coding and someone else coordinates with IT to put it on a server and it's a HUGE TIME-WASTING MESS. And here, one guy did it in 2 weeks. Imagine that!

Thu, Aug 12, 2010 matt long

Congrats on this app. Really well done.

Wed, Aug 11, 2010 Columbus, OH

I am glad he did this and glad you highlighted his story. He took it open himself to provide a service to the college. That's and learned a new skill in doing so. "Service Learning" anyone? It would be interesting to see how much more students would do if they were encouraged to do so. It doesn't always have to be the research fields and the research universities.

Wed, Aug 11, 2010 Los Angeles

We need more students like Shawn to take the initiative and create apps for their campus. IT departments at public campuses are overworked and understaffed so leave it to students like Shawn to develop apps that look good on their resume and employers will note his production of a product not another research paper.

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