Mobile Falcon App Offers New Way to Connect to FSU

A new universal mobile application helps connect students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community to the information they need about Fairmont State University through their smart phones.

Click here to view the app.

Available for Blackberry, Apple and Android devices for free on iTunes, the Mobile Falcon app provides quick links to useful information, including the following:

1. Campus Locator – Helps users find information on specific buildings including location, GPS directions, phone number and a brief description.
2. Directories – Allows users to search departments for faculty and staff contact information.
3. Facility Hours – Lists the dates and hours of operation for campus facilities.
4. Library – Searches the Ruth Ann Musick Library’s catalog and finds information on hours of operation, locations, guides, news and contact information.
5. News and Events – Displays current University news from the online news feed.
6. Emergency Info – Provides emergency contacts and a link to the Emergency Response Guide that can be downloaded to the phone.
7. Athletics – Allows users to follow Fighting Falcons Athletics news.
8. Facebook – Offers a link to the University’s official Facebook page
9. Twitter – Displays the University’s official Twitter feed.
10. YouTube – Displays the official Fairmont State Media Channel.

“Students and visitors to campus need an easy way to find resources on campus and to contact those offices. This application offers an easy, intuitive way to do so without resorting to using a PC. With the advent of mobile technologies, one can now interact with the University with a flick of the wrist,” said Andy Raisovich, Director of Application Services.

The project was selected for funding by Fairmont State University through a competitive process as part of the Strategic Planning Implementation Grant Awards presented at FSU in 2011. Thelma Hutchins, Director of Libraries submitted a proposal to use Boopsie, an industry-leading mobile solution for universities and libraries worldwide, to power Fairmont State’s mobile solution. Boopsie personnel helped develop and host the mobile web site, based on information provided by FSU.

Boopsie was founded in 2006 and located in Silicon Valley, California. Boopsie’s customers include Seattle Public, LA Public, University of Toronto, University of Notre Dame, Brown University, University of Gent in Belgium and University of Auckland in New Zealand. Boopsie is the American Library Association’s mobile partner for a range of conferences including ALA 2010 and the preferred mobile solution for a number of consortia. Affordable and easy-to-deploy without compromising on world-class performance, Boopsie's solutions are fully hosted and all apps are downloadable on mobile devices including Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, J2ME, Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile and also support browser-enabled devices.

Office of Information TechnologyMobile FalconAndy Raisovich