Connecting Your Campus with SMS

Russell Lindell, Sr. Software Applications Developer, Texas A&M University at Qatar

Ravi Kallianpur, Director of User Services & Instructional Technology, Texas A&M University at Qatar

Overview

• Texas A&M University at Qatar• Introduction to SMS

– Definitions and terms• TAMUQ’s implementation• Demonstration• Implementation for your campus• Questions

What Is Texas A&M University At Qatar?• TAMU branch campus• Doha, Qatar• Fall of 2003• Qatar Foundation• College of

Engineering– Chemical– Electrical– Mechanical– Petroleum

Our Students

• 185 students• Planned enrollment -

600• 40% International

– 27 countries

• Very high use of mobile phones

Why Did TAMUQ Choose To Use SMS?

• Contacting applicants– Voicemail nonexistent – Lack of an email culture– Unable to reach applicants by phone

• High use of cell phones in the local culture

• Decided to use SMS

SMS Gateway Solution

• Originally used staff cell phones• Ineffective for large groups of

recipients • Slow composition of messages• CIO decided on web based interface

for convenience of use• Used existing authentication system

for only staff and faculty

SMS Vocabulary

Short Message Service (SMS): A service for sending messages of up to 160 characters to mobile phones.

SMS Gateway: A web site that lets you enter and send an SMS message.

SMS - Short Message Service

Also Known As:• Texting• Text Messages• SMSes• Texts

Key Benefits Of SMS Technology• Instant reception of

communication • Low bandwidth

requirements– SMS equivalent to 1

second of voice data

• Targeted audience• Global reach

When Should SMS Be Used?

• Time sensitive information• Supplement to other forms

of communications• Low bandwidth situations

– Natural / Manmade Disasters

• Email inaccessible or impractical

Possible Uses For SMS

• Emergencies– Natural / Manmade disasters– Jeanne Cleary Act

• Advisories– Traffic accident / Unscheduled

maintenance – Weather advisories

• Instructor communications– Room location– Class time

Possible Uses For SMS

• Reminders– Library, Registration and Fees– Appointments

• Campus news and events– Sports scores & highlights– Student government elections– Club news & updates

• Contact during school holidays• Find out what your students

want / need

“I only wanted one pint today. Didn’t you get my text message?”

Disadvantages Of SMS

• Limited in length– 160 Characters

• Less than 100% participation among users– Cell phone ownership – Release phone number

• Potential for SMS SPAM• Unverified receipt

Things To Consider

• Policies– Purpose of the system– Who can use it– Scope of use– Cost to the recipient

• Procedures – Under what conditions is a message sent– Special conditions in an emergency

situation

Things To Consider …

• Other considerations– Language support

Kة• (Arabic) العربّي• 中文简体 (Mandarin) • ภาษาไทย (Thai)• Ρусский (Russian)

– SPAM: Don’t abuse the system

TAMUQ’s Implementation• Custom SMS Gateway• Service provider for

message delivery– www.strikeiron.com– www.abctext.com

• Development technologies– ASP .NET– C#– Active Directory– SQL Server– Web Services

Features Of TAMUQ’s SMS Gateway• Web based application• Integration with Active Directory

– Authentication– Address book

• Personal address books• Group messages• Message logging• Message tracking• Usage statistics

SMS Gateway Infrastructure

StaffFaculty Students Groups

IIS

SQL Server

Data

Active Directory

International Gateway /Service Provider

Internet

User

TXT MSG TXT MSG TXT MSG TXT MSG

TXT MSG

TXT MSG

Demonstration

Please turn ON your cell phones!

Utilization

• Faculty use to notify students of assignments and exam reminders

• Admissions use to contact applicants

• Used to notify students of class changes

• Emergency notifications• ITS helpdesk• Removed aversion to text

messaging

Metrics: Messages Sent By Month

Metrics: Total Recipients By Month

Parameters Of Use

• Only faculty and staff have direct access– Students go through the department of

student affairs

• Both business and personal use– Incidental use

• No cost to the recipient

Third Party Solutions

• e2Campus– www.e2Campus.com– www.omnilert.com

• Rave Wireless - Rave Essentials– www.ravewireless.com

• TXT4schools– www.tonicdesigns.co.uk/html/txt4schools

.html

Summary

• What is SMS• Benefits and Disadvantages• Appropriate Use• TAMUQ’s Custom Solution• Third Party Solutions• Slides on Educause website• Comments / Questions?

Contact Information

• Russell Lindell – rwlindell@tamu.edu• Ravi Kallianpur –

ravi@qatar.tamu.edu