Do you use email to communicate with students? If so, you might be surprised to learn that students may not be getting your messages. It seems that students now consider email too slow and antiquated. Hard to believe, but true.
Students now report that they prefer text messaging and instant messaging to email. In addition, many students report checking their email only occassionally (e.g., once a week or less). The most recent clearTXT newsletter included links to two articles about this topic. In case you missed the newsletter, here are those links again:
“Email is for Old People” (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
“Ohmidog, teens are so over e-mail!” (CNN Money)
In addition to these articles, there’s a nice blog post on the ETC@bmc blog (blog at Bryn Mawr) by Janet specifically about this topic. This is an interesting post and I recommend taking a look. You can read the post here.
Research Triangle Park, NC, October 8, 2006. Clemson University has selected clearTXT to deliver class announcements, assignments, schedule changes, campus events, and other school information to the mobile phones of its campus community members. This year, Clemson used alphaTXT, the broadcast messaging system, to deliver campus-wide information.
The system proved reliable and valuable, leading Clemson to move to the more comprehensive deltaTXT solution. Confident in clearTXT and its products, Clemson views clearTXT as a long-term partner for deliver class and school information to instructors and students. As Jamie Brown, IT Manager I at Clemson stated, “Blackboard and clearTXT go hand-in-hand and are most likely going to be on our campus for quite some time.”
“One of the greatest benefits of working with clearTXT is the helpfulness of their staff. The staff was very patient with us as we piloted the product and made sure it worked properly in our complex Blackboard environment. They’ve been great to work with.”
Dr. Michael Lieberman, Dean of Instructional and Research Computing, University of Cincinnati
“clearTXT and Blackboard go hand-in-hand and are most likely going to be on our campus for quite some time. The capabilities that clearTXT adds to Blackboard’s built-in functions makes clearTXT a very attractive communications tool.”
Jamie Brown, IT Manager I, Clemson University
“If I leave my house without my cell phone, I feel lost. I can’t text-message. I don’t know what time it is. I feel naked. I need it for everything.”
University of Minnesota Student
“clearTXT integrates with our Blackboard e-learning software, so students stay connected with their instructors and organizations using the technology they’re most comfortable with - the mobile phone.”
Paul Fisher, Director of the Teaching and Learning Technology Center , Seton Hall University
Research Triangle Park, NC, August 15, 2006. When students at Seton Hall University return to school this Fall, they’ll have a new way to keep track of class announcements, assignments, schedule changes, campus events, and other school information. During the summer, the university installed deltaTXT, the mobile communication system built by clearTXT Inc., that delivers class and school information directly to the mobile phones and email addresses of students, instructors, and staff.
“We will use the technology to promote university events and to quickly communicate with our community if there is an emergency,” explained Paul Fisher, Director of the Teaching and Learning Technology Center at Seton Hall University. “Plus, because deltaTXT integrates with our Blackboard e-learning software, students stay connected with their instructors and student organizations using the technology their most comfortable with – the mobile phone.”
According to Mr. Fisher, Seton Hall’s long-term plan is to provide “clear, constant, and personal communication to the community. clearTXT is the first component needed to achieve this goal. We looked at other offerings, but clearTXT provides what the university needs in the least complicated and most cost effective manner.”
“We’re thrilled Seton Hall selected us to help them achieve their communication goals and connect with their students via mobile phones,” said Doug Kaufman, CEO of clearTXT. “Today, students are so mobile and connected that email is considered too slow and inconvenient. This creates serious communication problems for universities. By extending the university to the mobile phone, deltaTXT solves the problems and enables students to receive the information they need, anytime, anywhere.”
Research Triangle Park, NC, May 22, 2006. Still recovering from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, schools now face predictions by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that 2006 will be a very active hurricane season. With an 80% chance of above-normal hurricane activity, schools must be more prepared than ever to deal with emergency situations.
To help schools prepare for emergency situations, clearTXT today announced discounts for schools that license the clearTXT system prior to July 1.
According to Doug Kaufman, CEO of clearTXT, “delivering critical information is only one part of a comprehensive disaster plan, albeit a very important part. Delivering the right information at the right times to the right people is critical, especially in an emergency. With clearTXT, schools can contact any member of the school community in seconds, whether they're at school, driving down the highway, or lounging at home.�
clearTXT provides permission-based text messaging systems that enable schools to send time-sensitive notifications, emergency alerts, and other important information as text messages directly to the mobile phones of teachers, students, staff, and parents.
Text messaging has proven highly effective during emergency situations for several reasons. Text messages travel on a part of the mobile network that's reserved for data and, unlike voice calls that may get dropped or not connect at all, text messages wait in a queue until there is room for them to go through.
