U Minnesota: U of M Branded Mobile Solution

What is U Minnesota?

The U Minnesota mobile app, built on the Guidebook platform, is available to all U of M departments and colleges (system-wide). Staff and faculty can create guides that will display on U Minnesota that can be shared publicly for U of M event, conferences, and programs. To learn more about Guidebook, U Minnesota, and how they differ, visit here. Only staff and faculty with umn.edu email accounts may build and edit guides in U Minnesota.

The U of M has signed 3-year contract with Guidebook (2017-2019) to host U Minnesota. In our 2014-2016 contract we had unlimited guides, but now we only have 100 guides, per year, to share system-wide. This quantity should be sufficient, but we ask that departments and colleges be intentional and carefully consider how many guides are needed.

To request an account fill out this form (only for U of M staff and faculty).

How to Use

NEW! Guidebook has changed its process. U of M staff and faculty must first contact Bill O'Connor to request a "Premium" U Minnesota guide (be sure to include the title you want for your guide). The button to start building a new guide is still available when you log into your account, but this option creates "Standard" guides that do not include tracks, metrics, and other tools available in the Premium guides. If you accidentally build a Standard guide, contact Bill O'Connor to request an upgrade.

Once a Premium guide has been created for you, log in to your Guidebook account, select the new guide, and start building (you should see "University of Minnesota EDU" at the top once you log in).

You will still need to hit the “Publish” button (once you publish the title and dates cannot be changed). Final approvals go through Bobby Wangaard in University Relations may take up to two days.

If you are new to U Minnesota and Guidebook, click here for tutorials on how it works.

Best Practices | Tips for Use

1. Guidebook is fairly intuitive, so new users typically are able to figure out how to build guides. Once you have set up the basics you will find information about polls and surveys, metrics, and how to promote your guide.
2. Once your guide is published you will see a "Manage" link, which allows you to determine if your guide is visible on U Minnesota, Guidebook, or both.
3. Mark your guide as "Private" if you want to control who sees it. You will be able to create a "Passphrase" to share with your audience. Using the Privacy is good if you want to publish early but not show in the directory yet. Privacy can be turned on and off whenever you like.  
4. Too many guides can overwhelm our public catalog, so be sure to mark your guide as private soon after your event, and delete when you no longer need to reference the content (under Guide Builder select the Privacy tab to make your guide Private; those who have already downloaded your guide will still be able to access your guide). Guides that sit for too long may be marked private for you, and eventually may be deleted.
5. Use the U Minnesota Google Group to ask questions and find out how other users are building their guides.

Support

Technical Issues

U Minnesota is managed by Guidebook, and not by the Office of Information Technology. If you experience any technical issues with the app or your guide (ei. Guide won’t publish, users cannot upload, etc.) you will need to contact Guidebook directly at support@guidebook.com.

If you have general questions about setting up and/or using your guide, post to the U Minnesota Google Group or contact Bill O'Connor.

Google Group

We encourage all U Minnesota users to join the U Minnesota Google Group. It was created as a space to ask questions and share information.

Metrics

Guidebook metrics are fairly easy to use, and a good way to determine the success of your guide with your audience and/or event. Visit the Guidebook Metrics page to better understand their measurement tools. 

Promote Your Guide

In your U Minnesota account you will find a section on promoting your guide. Here you will find help for social media, email, and links to download your guide. There is also a link here that you can share with your desktop and laptop users (loads like any other public website). 

The U Minnesota contract with Guidebook is sponsored and paid for by the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office for Student Affairs.