Local software company D6 Technology has deployed an application aimed at boosting collaboration between schools, parents and students, to 150 schools around the country.
Mark Parsons, MD of D6 Technology, says: “D6 completed a six-month pilot project at St Georges Grammar School in Cape Town. We have since expanded the project to other schools in the country.”
The School Communicator is a tool that gives parents information on events and activities at their children's schools.
Parsons explains the application is not bandwidth-intensive and can be downloaded from the Internet or installed from a CD. He adds it has a bulk SMS system that enables teachers to automatically send multiple SMSes to all students and parents.
According to Parsons, once installed, the application provides updates, including school news, sports results, and upcoming events, which are delivered automatically using push technology via the Internet.
He explains the technology consists of a simple content management system that enables teachers to upload resources to the School Communicator.
“The majority of schools using the application are from the Western Cape,” says Parsons. “However, this year we will focus on other regions such as Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. D6 plans to double the amount of schools that we distribute to by the end of the year.”
D6 is piloting School Communicator in Holland and the UK. The company has also received interest from Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The biggest pitfall surrounding the project is that it's specifically designed for high-end schools with Internet connectivity. Parsons points out that disadvantaged schools with no access to the Internet is not a market D6 is targeting.
D6 says the system has 35 000 users and expects this figure will double in the next month as more schools sign up for the application.
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