Quickly building iPad Learning Apps with the iWebkit

iWebkit is a free framework for the creation of iPhone and iPad compatible websites or web Apps. It can be used to create "Productivity Applications" as described in my post on "iPad Learning Application Styles". 

HTML experience is beneficial but not required because the included UserGuide provides an elementary overview on the key features. Nevertheless, web development skills are definitely needed when you want to leverage the framework to create iPad friendly front-ends to your web applications.

The iWebkit is in any case an easy way to get started with iPad Application development compared to Apple's SDK and object oriented programming with Objective-C. You also do not need to go through  through Apple's application approval process as you directly install the package on your web server. This also makes the maintenance process very simple and fast.  



For a demo on the iWebkit functionality simply point your iPad or iPhone Safari Browser to demo.iwebkit.net. There you will find examples for navigation and form elements, alternative application views and integration options with the standard iPhone and iPad Apps (Mail, iTunes, SMS, Youtube, etc).

Click on the "+" sign in the Safari url window to add the App icon to your iPad Home Screen as shown in my screenshots on the left.

What directly comes to mind for iWebkit based applications are administrative interfaces to Learning Systems. Nevertheless, there are many more potential usage scenarios:  Mobile Learning courseware and Performance Support Systems would definitely benefit from the standardized navigational elements. For your inspiration, have a look at the iWebkit Gallary that highlights user submissions of customized sites.

I would love for our "iPAD Learning LAB" to define a set of templates for Learning applications to be integrated with and extend the current iWebkit package. Be in touch and share your ideas or maybe even examples. You can even use the iWebkit to quickly create some conceptual prototypes!