iShark Mobile, an NSU app that provides users with information and updates on the university, has gained a new feature called SharkLearn Lite that integrates with Blackboard and WebSTAR to allow students to view course assignments, a course directory, their tuition account balances and holds on their account.
The iShark app, which is a free platform developed by the Office of Innovation and Information Technology, also provides information on campus dining, athletics, the Shark Shuttle, RecWell and contacts.
James Drew, director of information and innovation architecture, leads a team that works on the design of the app. The new features are additions to the version of the app that was redesigned almost a year ago. He said that the iShark app is meant to be a centralized hub for everything mobile.
“[The iShark app] is our jumping-off point to start to aggregate things together,” he said. “Just like SharkLink is supposed to tie all of those core services that we have at the university together. That’s kind of the intention behind iShark.”
According to Drew, when developing new projects like the recent iShark updates, the team talks to NSU students, faculty and staff.
Angel Nieves, senior director of software development, said that the new versions of the app were designed because there was no consistency in the way the app looked and functioned.
“It was very disjointed,” Nieves said. “Every single module within that app had a different look and would function very differently from one module to another. So that’s why we got this framework…so we could have a consistent feel and functionality.”
The new features are built onto the framework, according to Drew. He said that although many students and faculty are requesting new features, like connections to library databases and JobX, not every system currently has what the team needs to display it properly in the app.
“We’re really trying to focus on getting information in its rawest form so that we can manipulate it and show it in the most visually appealing, user-friendly way,” Drew explained. “If we can’t do that, then I’m more apt to back off of [the proposed feature] until we can.”
According to Drew and Nieves, the app is updated about every three months, and students can expect to see new features in the app throughout the year.
“We’re trying to make it the best it can possibly be,” Drew said. “We’re really trying not to bloat it up with a bunch of stuff and be a little more selective about what goes in there.”
The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play. For more information about the app, visit nova.edu/ishark/ and to give feedback on the app, email mobilehelp@nova.edu.
Caption: The iShark app now integrates with BlackBoard to allow students to view course assignments and grades.
Credit: G. Ducanis
