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    "title" : "The API Briefing: Department of State’s Model App – Education USA |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The API Briefing: Department of State’s Model App – Education USA",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/18/the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The API Briefing: Department of State’s Model App \u0026#8211; Education USA","summary" : "Not only does the Department of State have a great set of APIs, State also has an excellent example of how to build an informative and useful app. EducationUSA is a network of State Department advisers who help international students apply for U.S. university programs.","date" : "2014-06-18T10:00:46-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"bbrantley" : "Bill Brantley"},"topics" : {
        
            "application-programming-interface" : "Application programming interface",
            "mobile" : "Mobile",
            "software-engineering" : "Software engineering",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-06-18-the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/06/2014-06-18-the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/06/2014-06-18-the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/06/2014-06-18-the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa.md","slug" : "the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/18/the-api-briefing-department-of-states-model-app-education-usa/","content" :"\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/250-x-250-logo-Seal%5c_of%5c_Department%5c_of%5c_state.jpg\"\n    alt=\"U.S. Department of State seal / logo\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\nNot only does the Department of State have a great set of APIs, State also has an excellent example of how to build an informative and useful app. \u003ca href=\"https://www.educationusa.info/\"\u003eEducationUSA\u003c/a\u003e is a network of State Department advisers who help international students apply for U.S. university programs. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.educationusa.info/mobileapp/\"\u003eEducationUSA app\u003c/a\u003e has the most popular resources and services from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.educationusa.info/\"\u003eEducationUSA website\u003c/a\u003e, such as the ability to:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSearch for EducationUSA advising center information\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFollow the primary social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, \u0026amp; YouTube)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eView Frequently Asked Questions (in 8 languages)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiscover new financial aid opportunities, and\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUtilize the Ask an Adviser (in five languages) function\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe EducationUSA app is an excellent example of designing for multiple-device experiences. According to Michael Levin, there are three design types for multiple device experiences:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsistent\u003c/strong\u003e. Apps maintain the same look and functionality no matter the device.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContinuous.\u003c/strong\u003e The look depends on the particular device but the experience is consistent.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComplementary.\u003c/strong\u003e Devices collaborate to provide an experience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe EducationUSA app uses the continuous design in that the user has a consistent experience, but, a different look which is optimized for that particular device. (One place you can read more about this approach is in Levin’s \u003ca href=\"http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920027089.do\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDesigning Multi-Device Experiences\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/600-x-473-cropped-EducationUSA-app-horizontal-screencap-on-smart-phone.jpg\"\n    alt=\"EducationUSA app horizontal screencap on smart phone\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhy is this important for the API developer? Let’s say you are developing an app using the Department of State’s \u003ca href=\"http://history.state.gov/developer/catalog\"\u003eOffice of Historian Ebook Catalog API\u003c/a\u003e. This API is the catalog for all of the ebooks from the Foreign Relations of the United States. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ambibma.com/en/shubook.html\"\u003eShuBook\u003c/a\u003e, a third-party iTunes e-reader application, uses the API to allow users to browse and download the complete volume in a compatible e-book format. How you search and view the ebooks depends on whether you see it on the iPhone, iPad, or iMac even though all three experiences are served by the same API.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe creativity of third-party app developers and federal app developers is why the release of federal government information as APIs is so beneficial to the American public. Not only just for the information, but also new ways to present and combine the information in more useful and rich experiences.\u003cem\u003eEach week in “The API Briefing,” I will showcase government APIs and the latest API news and trends. Visit this blog every week to learn how government APIs are transforming government and improving government services for the American people. If you have ideas for a topic or have questions about APIs, please contact me via \u003ca href=\"mailto:William.Brantley@opm.gov\"\u003eemail\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eDr. William A. Brantley, PMP, is a Program Analyst, in Forecasting and Methods at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). You can find out more about his work in this space at \u003ca href=\"http://billbrantley.com/\"\u003eBillBrantley.com\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
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