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Attollo Scholars Experience Some Magic

NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson keynotes 'Magic: An Attollo Experience' in Lancaster, Penn. ©Attollo
NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson keynotes ‘Magic: An Attollo Experience’ in Lancaster, Penn. Photo source: Attollo

More than 1,300 attendees at the annual Attollo fundraising event in Lancaster, Penn., celebrated a group of 60 high school program scholars for being accepted into colleges across the country. Also highlighting the event, Magic: An Attollo Experience, was a keynote by NBA Hall of Famer, Magic Johnson.

This year’s celebratory fundraiser raised $1.5 million benefitting the Attollo program. Founded by the Children Deserve a Chance Foundation, Attollo is a college access/leadership program in Central Pennsylvania that supports youth from underrepresented communities in their pursuit of academic achievement, empowerment and social engagement.

As a token of appreciation to the event sponsors and donors, Attollo partnered with FUSION OF IDEAS to create custom-branded Apple AirPods as gifts. The device included the program’s name and logo printed on the case and on the stems of the headsets. The AirPods box is outfitted with a fitted custom device sleeve that has a photo of Magic Johnson.

One event donor shared anonymously, “You [Attollo] always inspire students to push beyond their comfort zones and do more than they thought possible. I am not quick to try new technology, but when I received these AirPods, I decided to push myself beyond my comfort zone and try them. My grandchildren were so impressed when I came walking in with my AirPods! I can listen to my audiobooks and my old favorite songs.”

Custom branded Apple AirPods are given to event sponsors and donors of Attollo's annual fundraiser.
Custom branded Apple AirPods are given to event sponsors and donors of Attollo’s annual fundraiser.
Attendees celebrate 60 of Attollo's high school program scholars for being accepted into colleges across the country. ©Attollo
Attendees celebrate 60 of Attollo’s high school program scholars for being accepted into colleges across the country. Photo source: Attollo
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Why Choose A Custom Mobile App For Business Training?

There is a surge in the number of remote employees in the workforce. According to Deloitte’s 2018 “Global Human Capital Trends” report, 37% of the leaders surveyed said they expect an increase in contractors by 2020, 33% predict a rise in freelancers and 28% foresee growth in gig workers.

As a response to the growing number of remote employees in the ever-changing world of technology, many companies are undergoing a digital transformation, which is the integration of technology into all aspects of a business. And in the digital transformation journey as it relates to business training and education, finding the right software to digitize your existing business training program can be daunting.

With an abundance of software solutions out there, how do you ensure that your employee’s Learning Experience will meet the goals of your organization? And what do you need to consider when implementing new training techniques for your business?

Mobile Application For Training

Most mobile users can agree that most of what is done on our devices, from looking for a nearby restaurant to getting the latest news, is done through apps. That’s because mobile apps are faster, easier to use and more engaging.

The usefulness of mobile apps can be carried into business training and education. Mobile applications are driving the market because they are easy to use and do not require a new IT infrastructure when implementing them into the existing training programs.

A Customized Learning Experience

Mobile apps are remarkably different from traditional business training formats. While traditional learning modules follow a linear learning format, digital learning on a mobile application allows for a personalized experience.

While there are many options for training mobile apps, one size does not fit all. There are pros and cons to each software and you will either have to compromise your program to fit the software or utilize more than one software to fit your needs.

A custom-built mobile application allows organizations to remove, alter or add content to fit the needs of the business. Through a portal, admins can push updates and adapt to varied training needs, including compliance, soft skills, products and change management. Training can be delivered to mimic the organization’s actual work environment, and content branded with company logos and corporate color schemes.

If the idea of a custom application is appealing but the thought of developing an app from the ground up is daunting, consider a customizable content management system (CMS).

A templated application that displays content using a list or menu view, a customized CMS allows you to personalize the fonts, colors, designs, and logos to fit your brand. You can add, modify and remove content to fit your training module. With just one template, you can create various versions of your program, depending on your training needs. And finally, you can create rules to qualify how each course is approached.

On the admin side, you’re equipped with an easy-to-use web admin portal where you can continuously make changes to the content on display. This gives you a streamlined way to create and manage an app without having to hire a dedicated developer. After an initial design and development period of the app, the system is entirely yours to control. The end result, a cookie-cutter setup process with unique, personalized results.

Ready To Build?

If you are ready for a custom application for your workplace training program, a good place to start is with the leadership in the department where the training is coming from, as well as your IT team. Getting your IT involved early in the process will alleviate potential issues when implementing the application into the existing IT ecosystem.

It can also be beneficial to survey past or potential trainees who may be using the app to understand the level of their technical knowledge. The more information available, the more prepared your company will be when speaking with an app developer. Start with your end goal in order to properly communicate direction and insight to the app developer.

Custom applications should be tailored to your business to allow greater efficiency. Employees who use a mobile application will get the maximum Learning Experience, ultimately saving the company time, money and resources.

This article was originally published in eLearning Industry.

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A Raffle Prize Worth Putting For

The GOLFWEEK Amateur Tour, with 50 regional tournaments, was founded to give amateur golfers a chance to compete in a nationwide series of stroke-play golf tournaments. Open to men and women, young and old, the tournament – now in its 25th year – uses some of the best championship golf courses and concludes with a National Tour Championship, which awards the final winner among the top players in each flight.

In addition to a day on the greens, the winner of each flight is awarded a crystal trophy and each participant is entered into a tournament raffle. At the El Paso, Texas/Las Cruces, N.M. tournament, customized Apple AirPods served as one of the top prizes for the event raffle. As one of the hottest tech accessories, it was a highly sought-after prize for the 60+ participants of the event.

Additionally, Apple iPad Pro tablets with customized Smart Keyboard Folios were used to check the golfers in at each tournament and serve as a live score board. As we have seen in this event, and others, cohesive branding can significantly add value and experience for all attendees and participants involved.

 

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5 Must-Have Features for Your Mobile Business App

As a business owner, you see the benefits of having a mobile application to help create efficiencies, cut operation costs and increase mobility.

Before you rush into the development stage, you should clearly identify your primary goals for your mobile solution and secondly, understand the features that you may want to be included in the app.

While most app features are discovered during initial conversations with the developer and discussed throughout the development process, it is still important to know and understand the elements of an effective mobile app.

To help you get started, we’ve put together the top five features of good mobile apps:

1. An Attractive User Interface

Visual design is not only about selecting the perfect images, colors, icons, fonts, but also determining how the appearance of the application impacts the user experience. The architecture and design phase is typically the first phase of every app development process, as it lays the foundation for the look and feel of the app.

2. Ease of Use

Eliminating any barriers to entry when using the app is another important element in creating an effective workplace application. You may lose users if they find your app difficult to navigate. In order to create the best user experience, it’s important to test your app with different user groups to find out how comfortable they feel while interacting with the app’s content across different platforms and environments. The journey throughout each section of the app should be smooth and seamless.

3. Fast and Reliable Performance

Have you ever used an app that loads slowly, crashes or completely shuts down while running? Understandably, most users have little patience for poor functionality and end up uninstalling or abandoning the problematic app. The most successful apps have fast response times and run continuously in the background. This is generally tested during the quality assurance phase in the app development process.

4. Simplicity

While it’s tempting to throw in fancy features on your mobile app, you lose your user when there are too many buttons and clicks in the app journey. Sometimes a simple, templated app, such as FUSION OF IDEAS’ Dynamic Content System (DCS), can be the best choice to meet your business needs.

5. Updated Content

When you have a system for pushing new or updated content and features to your app, you can continue to improve the reliability of the software. For businesses, it’s important to keep policies, sales messages and security issues up to date.

 

While understanding these qualities and features is essential to creating an effective mobile app for your business, it’s even more important to find the right partner to build your software.

The FUSION OF IDEAS dedicated in-house app development team follows a rigorous nine-step process when designing and executing a mobile application. Our number one priority is to create a custom mobile software solution that is tailored to your organization, and we are proud to have developed more than 300 mobile applications for companies of all sizes and budgets.

Contact our app development team to start a conversation about the possibilities of using technology to take your business to the next level.

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Wealth Management Firm Invests in a Digital Client Experience

Wealth management group Garrison Murphy Wealth Management (GMWM) has a fiduciary duty to their clients to provide transparency in their investment and wealth management services.

One of the ways they are delivering on that promise is by engaging with their clients via iPads that securely display all aspects of their financial life. This custom-branded iPad with GMWM’s logo serves as a communication tool through which GMWM can deliver advice, content and services. Clients can view and access their financial data and important documents in real time and securely transmit, store and share documents with interested parties.

This open-architecture approach has allowed the firm to break away from traditional, time-intensive quarterly or semi-annual meetings and to foster collaboration between the firm and clients. By going digital, GMWM has seen cost savings from the elimination of printing, binding, and physical storage of paperwork.

“It has been a pleasant experience to work with FUSION OF IDEAS,” said Nickole Garrison, GMWM Vice President and Chief Client Officer. “Until we connected with them, we were unable to find a company who could do the custom etching on our clients’ iPads. FUSION OF IDEAS was not only able to do the etching, but they also helped us find a solution for the custom packaging we were in search of for the iPad boxes.”

GMWM, we are honored to be a part of your digital transformation.