Best Practices

It's important to think about your users - most who download the new app will be parents, students, and staff - and they're looking for mobile-friendly, easy-to-access resources.

• Social Media Feeds: The mobile app can accept feeds from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, and RSS. For each of the feed types, formatting examples are listed in the app configuration interface as you click the icon to add a new feed to your selected organization.
• Calendar: Using data-driven calendars like Google or iCal enables your community to view calendar events and add them to their own personal device. Using Web or PDF calendars does not provide the “native” integration options. RSS Calendars are not available for integration into your app. This is largely due to the nature of how items post via RSS.
• Tip Line: The Tip Line for the mobile app is one a module that can be repurposed for a variety of uses (tip line, feedback, reporting, etc.). Whatever your chosen use, the process of implementing this unique resource is simple!
• Resources: The Resources module is the mobile app equivalent of a mini filing cabinet that you can set up for quick access to common district resources for parents, students, staff, and community members.
• Videos & Photos: Does your school or district have a YouTube channel or Flickr account? If so, add a module with your YouTube channel name and/or Flickr URL. The feed will pull directly into your App; displaying your photos and videos in a mobile-friendly format.
• SIS or Parent Portal: Does your SIS have a mobile-friendly login? This is added value for users to be able to access portal information from their mobile devices. 
• Menus: What's for lunch? Link to a folder or page that contains the lunch menu items for the week or month.
• Fee Payment: Do you have a fee pay system that's easy to use from a mobile device? If so, linking to the fee payment page is another convenient module for parents.

Important Tips

• It's important to link to mobile-friendly pages for the best end-user experience. After all, the mobile app is all about making it convenient for your constituents to find information about your district/school right at their fingertips. Test the link on your mobile device to make sure it's not too cumbersome to browse.
• PDF's open in a variety of ways on devices and default settings can be different from phone to phone. Plus, URLs may need to be updated in the future. Therefore, we recommend linking to a webpage rather than a PDF file or Word document.
• If your calendar or news are set as hidden to the public, the information won't display properly on your app. Please make sure this information is publicly visible if you would like to use it within your District/School app.