While students were away from campus over the summer, NSU’s iSharkMobile app received a major update. iSharkMobile is an application available for both Apple and Android devices that allows students to access information from all corners of NSU’s community. Self-described as the online portal for the NSU community, the application allows students to access information on a variety of topics. Ranging from the SharkShuttle and RecWell to Shark Dining and NSU athletics, the app has a plethora of information at any student’s fingertips.
Students who already had the iSharkMobile app downloaded may remember the previous version of the app containing all the features stated above. However, this new version has an excess of new features, making it worth another look.
The first and most notable of the changes is a new look and interface to the app. The app now launches on a slick homepage with easy to access landing pages for quick access to information. The landing page tabs are easy to read making the app abundantly useful in stressful moments where a student may need information fast.
Another new feature of the updated app, and arguably most important, is the Return of the Sharks tab. This section of the app allows its users to complete a self-assessment, provides information on masks, COVID-19 reporting forms, and general guides for both employees and students alike.
“[The Return of the Sharks tab] is right now one of the most important things we can put in anywhere, whether it is in our websites or this mobile application. Just awareness of what we should be doing to reduce the spread of the virus,” stated Julio Morales, chief technology officer at NSU.
The app is not intended for students to simply look at the Return of the Sharks tab once and call it quits, but instead is meant to be a constant help those on campus stay safe. This new tab provides reminders on proper safety precautions, as well as updates to the overall pandemic and how it relates to NSU.
“I think the most important parts of the application are the reminders, the alerts, the self-assessments and the reporting from it. You’re going to get up to date information on how we are navigating through this,” Morales explained.
Students at NSU are encouraged to download the app, not only for the information that is available or for COVID-19 help, but because the app was specifically made for NSU Sharks.
“It is your information highway to NSU as a whole… That’s what is going to help you navigate through NSU, whether you are on-site or not,” said Morales.
Morales further explained that the updated app directly took feedback from students, meaning that the new features that were implemented came straight from the app’s intended audience.
“We also put into [the app] your ideas and your feedback. What you see is a culmination of the surveys and what students have been asking for. That’s what you see here… We are driven by the student population to make the necessary changes,” said Morales
The iSharkMobile app can be found on a majority of smartphone devices through the App Store or the Google Play Store.
