STILLWATER, Okla. – Agricultural producers and other fans of the popular television program SUNUP now can easily watch their favorite show while on the go, thanks to SUNUP’s new smart phone-friendly website.
Produced by Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (DASNR), the 30-minute weekly SUNUP show features timely, highly visual stories that provide the latest science-based information and management options to Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, as well as showcasing high-priority topics important to agribusinesses, environmental stewardship, and community and rural development. The show airs statewide on OETA channels on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m.
The show’s improved website, sunup.okstate.edu, eliminates the need for ‘finger zooming’—touching the screen of a smart phone using a pinching motion to enlarge information to make it legible. This is one of the first mobile-friendly sites to be made available by DASNR and OSU.
“People increasingly rely on smart phones to access information and entertainment on the internet,” said Mike Woods, interim DASNR vice president, dean and director. “In response to this expectation, we are excited that DASNR can offer the new website format enabling us to better serve agricultural producers, consumers and our students.”
“We created the mobile site with our viewers in mind, who are often on the go or in the field,” said SUNUP host Lyndall Stout. “Anyone who has browsed the web on their phone knows it can be frustrating at times. But the new website format greatly improves the user’s experience.”
New video segments from the show are posted on the website each week. When viewing the SUNUP website on either a desktop computer or mobile device, users can easily locate video segments according to how recently they were posted or by category. The site is also fully searchable.
The mobile-friendly website was created by Phillip Williams, computer programmer and web designer for DASNR Technology Support Services, and Margi Stone Cooper, communications specialist for web content for Agricultural Communications Services.
“The SUNUP website is actually the same site for both desktop computers and smart phones. It’s not a separate mobile site,” Williams said. “The website automatically detects the user’s screen size and it adjusts the content so that it can be easily viewed on a smart phone.”
“The new website is the result of several weeks of work,” said Cooper. “There was a lot of discussion and trial and error. Phillip did a great job with the programming, and I think users will really like the results.”
The Division’s information technology group and Agricultural Communications Services maintain a tremendous number of websites, including those for the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service programs, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station and many other agriculture-related units. These sites will be migrated to the new mobile-friendly format throughout the coming year.
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CUTLINE INFORMATION: Margi Cooper, communications specialist for web content for OSU Agricultural Communications Services, demonstrates the new SUNUP TV mobile-friendly website. Cooper and Phillip Williams, computer programmer and web designer for DASNR’s Technology Support Services, developed the mobile-friendly site. (Photo by Todd Johnson, Agricultural Communications Services)
Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating: The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.
Margi Cooper
Communications Specialist
Agricultural Communications Services
142 Agriculture North
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
405-744-3651 (phone)
405-744-5739 (fax
[email protected]
