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School Communicator tool adds unexpected value

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Submitted by MyGreenside on Thu, 02/09/2010 - 23:29.

As the current public service strike is moving closer to a month, it puts additional pressure on the public education sector. With protracted mass action looming, schools are looking at ways to overcome the obstacles that will be faced by learners. A number of schools have already taken ownership of the situation, choosing to use communication as a means to allay parent concerns and to bridge the gaps left by striking teaching staff.

One innovative way schools are addressing the problem is the School Communicator, an easy-to-use communication tool geared for the education sector. School Communicator was intended as a simple and cost effective means of communicating with parents about school news. It generally includes important notices, events, sporting and cultural results and photo galleries. It’s also as a useful means of updating details and accessing relevant resources.

The tool is being put to good use during the recent strike action as schools using the system have turned its fast and effective functionality into an up-to-the-minute broadcaster and a useful link to the reams of class work that would otherwise have been a logistical nightmare to co-ordinate.

Jayne Bouwer at Umhlali Preparatory School reiterates that communication with parents, regardless of whether there is a crisis or not, is of paramount importance to the governing body. However in situations where parents are literally entrusting the safety of their children to their educators, using communication to create the right level of trust and confidence is critical.

“To date, we have been able to maintain a more than 80% student attendance rate despite the strike action, which has gone a long way towards limiting the negative impact on our learners,”says Bouwer. “We know that this is largely due to the fact that we have been so proactive about communicating the situation to our parents and keeping them informed of all our decisions and actions being taken on an up-to-the-minute, basis.

School Communicator has been instrumental in this process.” The school also assisted parents with information regarding how to keep the momentum going from home with age-appropriate activities and subsequently through workbooks and supplementary worksheets.

Another school, Kingsway High, has felt the impact more keenly. With its Grade 12 pupils just 60 days away from their all-important finals, concerns around preparation for preliminary and Matric examinations are almost palpable. Kingsway only implemented the School Communicator tool a few weeks before the strike, but have already found creative ways to make the solution work for them.

“To ensure pupils don’t fall behind, we’ve made school work available as PDFs. School Communicator ensures that parents are aware of where and how these can be accessed,” says Colleen Smit. “We are also using School Communicator to direct our Grade 12 learners to other Social Media, such as Facebook, whereby they can engage with the various teachers on issues where they need extra assistance.

In just three weeks, almost half of our parents have adopted the system and are extremely impressed with the results. It creates a valuable link between the school and parents, which is extremely valuable in times where parents may be feeling anxious about the prevailing circumstances.’

Until now, Elna De Waal at Laerskool Hennopspark has been the administrator for the primary school’s School Communicator, using it as primarily as a social calendar tool for sporting and cultural events and school results. Since the beginning of the strike action last week, she has now used it to supplement the school’s traditional means of communication, keeping parents abreast of the school’s reaction to the strike action on a daily basis.

All grades and subjects now have links to specific assignments and tasks that can be accessed over the internet, ensuring that those students that are kept out of the classrooms out of concern for their safety can keep up to speed with their through detailed tutorials prepared by their teachers.

About D6 Technology
D6 is the only company in South Africa that spesialises in desktop communication tools. We have been in existence since 2005 and have grown significantly to include a national sales team as well as a dedicated development and support team based in Cape Town.

Our product, the School Communicator is a lightweight application that sits on a computer’s desktop and is downloaded either from a CD or internet link. Updates including school news, sports results, upcoming events, etc are delivered to parents as soon as they connect to the internet. For more information visit: www.d6media.com/