The variety of cell apps continues to soar they usually’re rapidly changing into an enormous a part of how we talk and get stuff executed. Whether or not you’re planning your weekend utilizing the Climate Channel app or wanting up offers on the Cartwheel app, we’ve grown to depend upon cell apps to make our lives simpler.
You’ve all however determined your college or district is green-lighting a cell app as a result of you already know it’s going to enhance communication, and you already know a faculty cell app may help you attain extra mother and father. You may have a web site, emergency notifications, emails and different technique of sending data, so what options do you want in your app? Is the cell app merely the most recent shiny object to make mother and father joyful as a result of they requested for it?
You might want to be sure that your cell app works to your college. The objectives for a cell app can range from college to highschool, however entry to highschool information and one-to-one engagement are what it is all about. For instance:
- Registering for a faculty occasion
- Checking a lunch menu
- Reminding mother and father to vote for a levy
- Selling a fundraiser
- Checking and syncing the college calendar together with your private calendar
Public or non-public, city or suburban, giant or small, there are core options that each college ought to have of their cell app.
As with a faculty web site, a notification system, or any tech-dependent product, not all cell apps are created equal. A cell app might need many options, however – like a faculty web site stuffed with design errors – if it doesn’t present the first options you want successfully, it’s simply one other overrated and underutilized software in your college’s communications chest. If a cell app is completed proper, it may be your greatest asset for communication and change into a self-serve portal for everybody.
Earlier than I drill down into the highest options try to be searching for, take note the general purpose right here is to assist streamline communication to folks, college students and the group.
Listed below are seven must-have college cell app options it is best to insist on out of your cell app supplier:
1. Tight integration
Sure, integration is a characteristic and doubtlessly crucial one. Integration is what makes it doable to offer focused data to your mother and father, college students, college and employees. It is best to have the flexibility to ship information that’s particular to varied viewers segments (e.g., a school-by-school foundation, grade-level, and many others.) in order that the data the recipients get applies to them.
Integration can even make it straightforward so that you can handle how data is shared. Integration can range when it comes to how tightly it’s tied into your different channels – reminiscent of your college web site. If executed appropriately, such website-mobile app integration can preserve you from managing data from a number of fronts, or worse but, having duplicate data that may be a legal responsibility.
From a consumer perspective, it’s helpful to have a your web site pages simply accessible from the cell app. This can require the web site to be in responsive design format which can make it straightforward for the consumer to remain inside the cell app to search out what they’re searching for. An excellent college cell app will permit the consumer to just about get to any web page on the web site by means of the cell phone.
2. Very helpful calendar
Do you employ your cellphone to verify your calendar? A cell gadget has calendar written throughout it, and what higher place to have your calendar than in your arms. A calendar could be the preferred characteristic in your cell app. Dad and mom, college students, college and employees can simply add occasions proper to their calendar utilizing their cell gadget.
When taking a look at cell apps to your college, be sure that the calendar characteristic is strong and consumer pleasant. Easy issues like massive buttons and exhibiting the right calendars could be crucial. Think about if you happen to had seven colleges and a district and you’ve got two children in an elementary college. You don’t wish to pressure your guests to sift by means of all the faculties and their respective occasions to search out the data about their college.
Additionally be sure that it appears to be like and works like a local calendar in your cell gadget. For instance, if you happen to have a look at iPhone’s built-in calendar, it’s easy, contact pleasant and simple to navigate. Your college cell app calendar might want to present a simple manner for somebody to click on a button on an occasion and add it to the calendar. They should work hand and hand.
3. Straightforward-to-use listing
Similar to the calendar, a listing is a scorching spot and a characteristic that should work nicely. In case you are on a cellphone, the listing characteristic ought to help you rapidly seek for a person and click on a cellphone quantity or an e mail button to mechanically attain that particular person. Once more, it’s good if you happen to can show the contacts which can be related to the cell app consumer as an alternative of a great deal of unrelated college and employees.
Along with the benefit of use to the customers, the data for all the contacts ought to pull out of your college’s centralized information. Whereas a variety of apps could help you add a CSV file, what occurs when college and employees contact information adjustments? So as to have this executed successfully, you will have to combine the listing together with your college system.
4. Entry to grades
All of us agree that dad or mum involvement is important to bettering your college. Involvement can begin with mother and father being in tune with their little one’s grades. Past grades and take a look at scores, checking in on homework assignments is a good performance for a cell app.
A cell app could or could not present an ideal integration to this due to a number of SIS components, however at a minimal it’s essential present a hyperlink to your college’s grade system. In an ideal situation, you may have integration with the grade system and you’ve got a single signal on with the cell app. There are such a lot of programs that it’s tough if one hundred pc integration is achievable, however a grade portal with responsive design will definitely assist.
5. Focused push notification
It’s protected to say nobody needs to put in a cell app that sends a bunch of one-size-fits-all messages. They need an app that retains them engaged with related data. This requires settings to be predetermined based mostly on an app login or the flexibility for the dad or mum or pupil to regulate their settings. This must be intuitive for the consumer, and it is very important talk this when downloading and putting in.
On the opposite facet of the app, you want the flexibility to phase your messages. Relying in your college or district, if you happen to can empower numerous individuals to ship push notifications to their associated colleges members, that could be a massive plus. Some programs even have the posh of workflows and approval processes.
6. Newest information, pictures and movies
This sounds apparent, however this is a chance to advertise the most recent happenings by means of phrases, photos and movies. This wants to suit into all different types of your communication. In an ideal world, you possibly can promote your message from a single spot and will probably be shared in all the channels. For instance, think about you want volunteers for a faculty carnival. You create a web page in your web site, broadcast a message, and every thing may even be obtainable in your cell app. You may even embody a type for fogeys to fill out immediately on the cell app.
Images and movies are nice methods to unfold the phrase for engagement. Video consumption on cell gadgets is manner up, and can proceed to soar. If pictures and movies are or can be a part of your college’s communication, be sure that your cell app can accommodate them.
7. Social media connections
Faculties are rapidly embracing social media and utilizing it to have interaction their college households and the group at giant. Whereas a majority of individuals have devoted social media cell apps on their telephones, the advantage of a cell app is to make it simpler for customers to entry these accounts. You might need a faculty Instagram account, or a faculty Youtube channel, each of which could be linked to your cell app.
An vital issue for the cell app is its means to acknowledge your kind of cellphone and immediately hyperlink to the precise social media app reminiscent of Fb, Twitter and Instagram. Many cell apps will launch a browser as an alternative of the cell app.
Conclusion
With everybody’s rising dependence on cell apps, it’s excessive time your college begin giving critical consideration to at least one. It’s an vital a part of your net communications combine, for, if built-in the best manner, can improve the affect of your web site, social media, and different on-line communications.
Whatever the dimension or kind of your college, I recommend that earlier than your start your search, take note the options you’ll want essentially the most, and discover a cell app supplier who can ship these.
Your college must be in your mother and father’ telephones. Simply be sure you do it proper.
