Your Feedback Wanted: Making ED Online More Mobile
Are you reading this on a smartphone right now? Would you be having a better reading experience if we offered a mobile-friendly version of the Homeroom Blog?
The web managers at the Department of Education, including myself, know the number of smartphone and tablet owning Americans is on the rise. In the past 12 months the number of ED.gov visits on mobile devices increased by about 143%.
Our team is looking at ways to enhance the Department’s digital services and respond to the White House’s Digital Government Strategy. We are spearheading a new initiative to make our websites and online applications more mobile friendly – by optimizing web pages for viewing on mobile devices or creating apps for mobile devices.
With the recent launch of the new StudentAid.gov by ED’s office of Federal Student Aid, the department has taken the first steps in meeting the demands of mobile users. StudentAid.gov always looks great because the site’s display adjusts depending on whether a visitor is browsing on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. StudentAid.gov provides consumers with a one-stop website where they can access federal student aid information, apply for federal aid, repay student loans and navigate the college decision-making process.
Additionally, the Answers.ed.gov site is optimized for mobile browsing and searching. The National Center for Educational Statistics created a mobile version of the School Districts Demographic System and a mobile application of selected NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) Results (for Apple iOS| for Android).
This is just a start and we have still have work to do.
We want to hear from you. Tell us which of ED sites and applications you think are the most important to make more mobile friendly. Your input will help us prioritize the suggestions made here and some of the ideas we already have in mind.
To get the conversation started, here are a few candidates to make more mobile friendly:
- College Navigator
- Homeroom Blog
- ED.gov website
- G5 Grants Management System (an online tool for grant applicants, grantees, and ED staff)
For more ideas, see our lists of ED-funded websites and online tools.
Comments open on this blog post will be open through August 20. Our team plans to analyze your feedback and set out a plan for making more of our websites and tools more mobile in the coming months.
Thanks for taking the time to tell us what you think!
Jill James is Web Director at the U.S. Department of Education