sydney region nsw department of education & training nsw public schools – leading the way ...

SydneyRegion

NSW Department of Education & Training

NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way www.sydneyr.det.nsw.edu.au

Sydney RegionBulk SMS SolutionFor Schools(...and TAFE)(...and offices)

SydneyRegion



The SMS Trial in 2007• During 2007, Sydney Region trialled a

centrally-managed bulk-SMS service for schools

• In that time around 50 schools signed up to use The SMS Engine to assess the feasibility of schools using SMS for communications with staff and parents

• The formal evaluations conducted showed that the solution was very practical and also very affordable (8c 1-way / 11.2c two-way)

SydneyRegion



The SMS Trial in 2007• Schools used SMS to:

– Find and send messages to staff– Send daily absence and late notifications to

parents– Allow parents to reply with reasons for absence– Allow parents to notify the school tat their child will

be away that day– Notify parents about P&C meetings, weather

notifications about Carnivals, bus returns from Excursions, child in sick bay etc

• Over 150,000 SMSs were sent during the trial

SydneyRegion



Contracting an SMS Solution• The trial showed us that we had to continue

the service – which meant contracting it• We produced tender specifications and

received around six responses• The key requirement as far as NSW DET

Audit were concerned was that the service had to be hosted entirely within Australia

• The SMS Engine uses an off-shore service and an Australian-only service provided by them would almost double the cost

SydneyRegion



The Front-End SMS ApplicationWith The SMS Engine,an easy to use front-endapplication was providedby the Region.

It provided easy importingof data from OASIS andsimple composing anddistribution of bulk-SMSmessages that are bothpersonalised and logged.

However, with the new solution, this program isno longer available.

SydneyRegion



The Front-End SMS ApplicationIntroducing...

SMSpresso

Brew your own instantSMS messages.

Only 8 cents per SMS all messages are 2-way

(plus GST)

• No contracts• No expiry of credits• Minimum order of 5000 SMS credits via SR

SydneyRegion



SMSpresso Availabiltiy?

• MGM Wireless are finalising the account management system and we expect schools to be able to join from the start of Term 3 ’08

• The school ordering process will be finalised by the end of this term with notifications about the service sent to all schools shortly

• If your school is interested and wants to know more, there are plenty of schools that used The SMS Engine who can advise

SydneyRegion



What About The SMS Engine?• If your school has The SMS Engine with

available credits, you can still use them until they run out– If you wish to stay with The SMS Engine, you can, but the

school will have to deal direct with The SMS Engine people

• After you have used your remaining credits you can join in with SMSpresso– You will need to alert your parents of a change of mobile

number for the school– There are some feature differences between the two

solutions

SydneyRegion



Questions?

Just SMS your Name andQuestion to 0400 329 522

Open to anyone 16 years or older. Ask your parents for permission to participate in the SMSQuestion and Answer Game. SMS costs $4.75 per question/answer pair. Minimum five rounds of questions will be charged to your mobile phone bill. Once five rounds of question/answers have been sent, responses will continue to be received at $2.50 per response. To cease thispractical and worthwhile service, reply to one of the responses with the word STOP.

sydney region nsw department of education & training nsw public schools – leading the way ...

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