By STEPH SMITH
New media technologists at Conestoga College are currently working on the design and development of an app that will allow Spoke and Spoke TV to be directly accessible on the smartphones of students, faculty and staff.
The team, composed of technologists Chris Martin and Quinn Battersby said the app will be available for those with iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows operating systems. The app will notify the user of new content published to spokeonline.com, giving them access to articles, videos, archives and information regarding Spoke.
“The main goal of the Spoke app will be to bring overall brand awareness to Spoke, as well as the ease of access to articles,” Martin said.
“In an effort to meet the demand of as many devices as possible we will want to make the Spoke Online website a web app first,” Battersby said in an email.
“It will not be in the app store or Google Play store initially. What will happen is when a reader visits Spoke Online on their mobile device, they will be presented with a mobile version that is built to provide a user-friendly experience on their device.”
Battersby said they will be delivering a native version (meaning it is accessed, downloaded and upgraded through the use of an app store) of the web app for the device platforms that they feel are in the most demand.
Both Martin and Battersby said that marketing the app will come in the form of Quick Response (QR) codes (a matrix barcode readable by cellphone cameras or smartphones with a QR scanner app), which will be inserted into the newspaper as well as on posters.
“We’re certainly excited and we know it’s a new platform for students to consume media about them. We know there is a need,” Battersby said.
He added they are still finalizing the app and that it will hopefully be released in the near future.
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