Publish for Mobile -Use Mobile Templates

As I work with more mobile devices,  I have become aware that some of my Google Sites and Blogs do not display well on Mobile Devices.  I remember the earlier days of web publishing when I was constantly checking to see how my web sites displayed on Windows vs. Macs  or NetScape vs. Internet Explorer.  Today, the key is to check out the results of your published work on mobile devices as well as your desktop.  That does not mean giving up some of the publishing features that work well for desktop viewers, but it does mean offering an alternative for those that do not display correctly or at all on a mobile device.

Blogger allows you to choose whether mobile viewers get a different view of your Blog.  It also allows you to customize that mobile view by choosing a different template for Mobile Viewers.  Check out the tutorial from Mary of Blogger Hat for step by step directions.

Google Sites require a little more tweaking to get right.  

• I found that the 2 or 3 column layouts often display poorly for mobile viewers.  I have many sites set up this way.  I now think twice about this when to use this layout.    
• I also found that some embedded gadgets (such as an embedded Picasa slide show) do not show up on at all for mobile viewers. Offering an additional link directly to the embedded artifact allows your mobile user to also have access to this artifact
• Finally,  check out some of the Google Templates offered here or test out how your site looks on a mobile device here.
  
  Check out this little mobile friendly site I created using one of the Google Site Template for mobile as a guide  to encourage viewers to share their own tips for using Mobile Tools to extend Google Tools.   Use the ADD TO HOME SCREEN feature on your mobile device to get that APP like look and feel. Check out the GOMO site for  more information from Google on how to Mobilize Your Sites.

What tips and resources can you share that can help all of us do a better job publishing for mobile using Google Tools?

Welcome

Welcome to this collaborative project.  The purpose of this project is to share ways to use mobile tools to extend our use of Google Tools.  The challenge that lead to this project was the rapid adoption of mobile tools in today's schools.  In 2009,  the Horizon Report predicted that mobile tools were less than a year from being widely adopted in today's school.  Their prediction has held true.  In my work with schools I see more and more mobile tools being used by administrators, educators, and students.  Whether it be an administrator using a smart phone, a student using an iPod touch, a single ipad in the classroom,  a cart full of ipads,  or  full fledge 1:1 with iPad deployments, or the increasing use of other mobile technology such as Android tablets,  mobile users are trying to figure out how to keep  using the powerful Google Tools that have become part of their workflow and their culture.  I've heard many even ponder out loud, that they are trying to decide whether to chose  Google Tools OR  mobile Tools. If your school has grown to be a collaborative culture fueled by the power of Google Tools to collaborate,  you certainly don't want to give up the power of these tools.  Nor do you want to give up the power to consume AND create anywhere, anytime that Mobile Tools offer.
Unfortunately today's digital tool ecosystem does not seem to offer the most fluid way to CONSUME,  CREATE, and COLLABORATE - ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, on ANY DEVICE.  Fortunately we are seeing constant changes in the digital tools landscape that bring us closer to that desired state of being able to COLLABORATE - ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, on ANY DEVICE.

So as we move forward, it seems that we could eliminate lots of time that each individual spends looking for the best way to use Google Tools and Mobile Tools together and trying to keep up with new possibilities as the tools are updated to include new features.  Thus came this idea of creating a collaborative space for sharing amongst the passionate users of Google Tools who want to leverage the power of mobile devices.

Please consider adding your tips in the comment section  or requesting an invitation to become a contributor to this Blog space.

Note:  this workspace was originally set up as a Google Site, at the Google Summit- New England, but has been moved to blog format to make contributing via comments easier.   I look forward to your ideas for Extending Google Tools With Mobile Tools.  Please contact me if you would like to contribute as a a blog author or blog guest.