Sprint 101

Why did EDUCAUSE hold a 5-Day Sprint on mobile computing?

Perhaps no area of higher education IT is evolving more rapidly. Colleges and universities are making important decisions about mobile computing and how it can be incorporated into effective technology programs—today and tomorrow. Eighty-five percent of the higher education IT community we surveyed said they needed more information to advance their mobile computing initiatives.

To bring the community together on this topic, EDUCAUSE convened a Mobile Computing 5-Day Sprint, on April 25–29, 2011—a free, pilot experience designed for the community to engage in discussions on the many ways mobile technologies are altering higher education.

Where did the sprint concept come from?

The Mobile Computing 5-Day Sprint was designed to simulate other commonly known single-topic, highly-focused events and community gatherings:

• Code and book sprints
• Innovation jams
• Cause- and advocacy-based events

How did it work?

Participants visited the website throughout the week. The sprint was a build-your-own experience—users chose which activities to participate in, based on their interests and needs. Each day we revealed a new web page with links to free synchronous and asynchronous activities.

Sprint activities included:

• An online discussion via IdeaScale —our conversation hub for the sprint.
• Featured EDUCAUSE resources.
• Daily web seminars.
• Live expert Q&A sessions.
• Daily blogs posted by invited guest bloggers.
• Daily polls and a short mobile computing survey.
• A mobile version of the sprint website at educause.edu/mobile.
• Twitter discussions using the hashtag #EDUSprint.
• A chance to e-mail us your thoughts. This was a pilot experience, and your feedback is important to us.
• Your reflections on each day's experience and theme.

What topics about mobile computing were covered?

A survey of members was conducted on mobile computing needs in March 2011. Over 85% of the 700 respondents noted the need for more information on mobile computing within the next six months. We analyzed and summarized the major trends found in the survey responses and assigned each day of the online experience a theme around a popular aspect of mobile computing:

Monday, April 25: The Future of Mobile Computing

Tuesday, April 26: Teaching and Learning

Wednesday, April 27: Mobile Enterprise Integration

Thursday, April 28: Security, Privacy, and Policy

Friday, April 29: Mobile Infrastructure

What did participants expect to get out of the 5-Day Sprint?

A focused and consolidated discussion on mobile computing in higher education. The community shared ideas, insights, and useful resources on various aspects of mobile computing to help participants advance mobile computing initiatives on their campuses. These conversations helped surface important questions we needed to be thinking about.

Could the sprint be accessed from a mobile device?

Select aspects of the 5-Day Sprint were mobile-browser-friendly—including articles, IdeaScale discussions, and daily polls. The web seminars through Adobe Connect were best viewed on a laptop or PC. Access the site at educause.edu/mobile.

How did members actively participate during the sprint?
 

• Facilitated discussions or tweeted.
• Submitted their institutional best practices, applications, websites, and lessons learned at educause.ideascale.com.
• Perused and commented on EDUCAUSE resources daily.
• Shared their thoughts by writing blog posts with the tag EDUSprint.

What happened after the sprint?

After the sprint, this website turned into a focal point to aggregate, showcase, and solicit existing and new mobile computing resources, effective practices, and insights and venues where the conversations can continue.

In addition, an event summary was published, and a proceeding e-mail was sent out to the community with information on how to engage in year-round conversations on mobile computing.

How do I get help or give feedback?

Please e-mail or call EDUCAUSE Member Services at 303-449-4430 with any questions or comments on this pilot experience.

For web seminar technical questions, you can also visit our technical requirements and web seminar FAQs web page.