Parental engagement goes mobile with Studywiz
Mobile and parents is top of the agenda for Becta approved learning platform Studywiz, soon to launching Studywiz Parent, the first online parental engagement solution with mobile access. Studywiz Parent caters for the busy pace of parents’ lifestyle with instant updates to school information and their children’s reports and progress via their mobile phone.
Parents will be able to log into Studywiz Parent through the web browser on either their mobile phone or desktop computer to check their children’s attendance, achievement and behaviour data. Parents can also view homework, timetables, individuals learning plans and schools events for a complete understanding of the learning progress. For schools, Studywiz Parent enables them to meet and exceed the UK Government’s Parental Engagement requirements.
Speaking about the upcoming release of Studywiz Parent, Geoff Elwood, CEO of Studywiz, said: “If we are going to get serious about parental engagement, we need to meet the needs of parents too. We gave a lot of consideration to designing a product that not just met the government targets, but also gave parents a tool that fits into their lifestyle and they would want to keep coming back to. Mobile access to Studywiz Parent was an obvious extension. Parents don’t have to wait until they’re at work or home to log into a computer to access important information from the school. Instead, they can access information when it’s convenient for them such as on the train home or waiting to pick up their kids from school.”
The announcement of Studywiz Parent with mobile access builds on the extension of Studywiz Mobile, an award winning online learning environment with a mobile interface. The latest development to Studywiz Mobile sees the functionality extended to support online and offline activities, allowing students with limited or no internet connection to continue learning at home. Studywiz Mobile, which was originally designed for iPod Touch and iPhone, is now also available on a wide range of smartphone devices including Samsung, Palm, Toshiba, O2 and HTC with Windows Mobile 6.1 or Android operating systems.
The extension of Studywiz Mobile to smartphones, which are the fastest growing segment of the mobile market, opens up the availability of anytime, anywhere education to even more learners who can now access their learning platform through a greater variety of mobile devices than ever before. The extended functionality is not only opening up new opportunities to students, Studywiz Mobile is now even more accessible for parents using mobile devices to engage in their child’s learning process, from work, home, or on the move. Opening up a whole new level of two-way communication between teacher and parent, Studywiz Mobile provides a feature-rich, collaborative learning space to engage in polls, chats and discussions, and access assignments and tests.
For students accessing Studywiz Mobile through their iPhone or iPod touch, new online and offline enhancements have been made to the Studywiz Mobile eLocker. It provides teachers and students with a safe, secure and convenient storage space to share, house and access media-rich files, including audio and video. The online and offline functionality enables learning to continue on a mobile device in all environments – even those with limited or non-existent internet connectivity.
Studywiz Mobile eLocker gives true meaning to anytime, anywhere learning by enabling all students – connected or disconnected – to continue learning outside the classroom whether from home or on a school trip. Students can download the latest learning content to their Studywiz Mobile eLocker through their handheld device while connected to the internet. Then, either on or offline, they can add any file type to the Studywiz Mobile eLocker. If students have been working offline, they can easily synchronise to their Studywiz desktop learning platform the next time they connect online and update the eLocker.
Geoff Elwood commented: “Since launching Studywiz Mobile, the interface has gained huge momentum in the marketplace, including winning the highest software award in the USA, the CODIE Best Mobile Solution. The latest developments to Studywiz Mobile will open up the availability of anytime, anywhere learning to many more learners. It is important that we keep looking towards the future and enhance the interface so that it continues to meet the needs of our young people.
“Young people today are being given more and more opportunities to take ownership of their learning and this will be hugely beneficial when they leave school and enter the working world. By extending the compatibility of Studywiz to include smartphones we are opening up opportunities for young people to continue their learning outside of the school walls and allowing them to take advantage of the huge capabilities of Studywiz Mobile.”
For more information, please contact Fiona Martin, Marketing Communications Manager, Phone: 0845 434 8087, Email: fiona@etechgroup.com Web: www.studywiz.com
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About Studywiz Parent
Studywiz Parent provides a central, secure online space for parents to easily access detailed information about their children’s work and progress, and immediate information about school life and events. Studywiz Parent allows parents to have meaningful, engaging dialogue with their children and school. Studywiz Parent is the only solution that provides desktop and mobile access, allowing parents on the move, at work or commuting to benefit from instant access to information.
