Sycamore Announces New Web App
Written by Nick SchreckSycamore Education is proud to announce a new web application for use with mobile devices! This application is meant to help parents access vital information about their students, while giving parents the flexibility to use pretty much any mobile device available.
What is the difference between a “web app” and a normal app?
A web app is an application that is accessed from your phone or tablets mobile browser. A normal or ‘native’ app is downloaded from an app store like iTunes or the Android Market Place.
Why did you not create a normal app?
Native apps only work on a specific phone type: ie, apps written for the iPhone only work on iOS products. If we had gone this route, we would have had to create multiple versions of the same app to work on all types of device. This approach would have led to increased production cost and time.
By developing a web application, we’ve broadened our reach and reduced our cost. Our web app can be accessed by almost any web enabled device out there (phones, tablets, etc). Sycamore’s philosophy has always been to keep our costs down so we can in turn keep our product super affordable. By building a web app, we’re letting the largest number of people take advantage of it at a fraction of the cost!
But I really want that icon on my phones screen to click on!
We can do that! Both iOS device and Android devices allow you to bookmark a web page - http://m.sycamoreeducation.com/ - and create a shortcut for that bookmark on your home screen. We even have a lovely icon that shows up for you. This way, any time you want to view our app, just click the icon and away you go!
Who can use this web app?
Right now, all parents of Sycamore students will be able to log in and access school news, events, their student’s grades and their current financial information from the school. In the near future we will open the app up to students them selves to look at their grades and current homework. After that, teachers will be enabled to access their classroom resources and eventually will be able to access their Pass-A-Notes, grade assignments and take attendance from the application!\
From what devices can I get access to this application?
The beauty of a web application is that pretty much every modern mobile device (iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows Phone 7 devices, etc) has a browser capable of accessing the app. Even your desktop computer can pull it up if you really wanted to (just be warned- the app was made for use with a very small screen, so it may look a little goofy on a huge computer monitor).
Now we're adding another acronyn to the mix: LMS. That's right, Sycamore now includes an integrated (and quite nifty) learning management system.
Check out this screen shot:
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Now teachers have some really nice tools which are integrated into every classroom homepage.
Teachers can set up a syllabus for the class, a schedule, and include class policies. And teachers can easily customize and configure these features to suit the specific needs of the given class.
As I mentioned, these features are seamlessly integrated into the Sycamore Education system. Which will lead to the topic of my next blog post: Don't Even Thank About Purchasing a Stand-Alone SIS.
A little foreshadowing here. I can't tell you how many clients I've talked to who are considering purchasing a stand-alone gradebook, a stand-alone curriculum manager, or a stand alone SIS. Don't do this! The days of stand-alone products are numbered. Why would you want the headache of trying to manage several products, while trying to manage an entire school? I'll elaborate in my next post.
If you already use Sycamore Education, you probably love the Pass-a-Note feature (let's call it PAN, for short). The PAN already has a lot of great features built into it. Users can upload a graphic or photo, change the background color, and add a signature. Users can even have their PAN's forwarded as text messages or emails.
Now users can add a custom audio alert, so every time you receive a new PAN you can hear Marlon Brando say "The horror," or Larry the Cable Guy saying "Git-R-Done."
Some advice: pick a sound that's not going to annoy the people who work around you. That means no Celine Dion samples.
Sycamore Education is a great value. Nearly any school, regardless of size, can afford to benefit from the over 200 integrated features that Sycamore delivers. What many administrators don't realize is that Sycamore can quite easily be a cost neutral solution for schools. Looking at the big picture, many of our clients actually end up saving money by investing in Sycamore Education.
How is that possible?
1) No Need for Servers or Special Equipment
This is a big one. Sycamore Education makes it possible for school to completely eliminate servers and specialized equipment. We partner with RackSpace to provide unparallled safety and security, and we also automatically back up your data every single day. (In fact, we've never lost a single byte of data in 12 years.)
2) Uptime
How much time has your school wasted on servers that need to be rebooted, and software that has to be updated? Go ahead...think that over. I'll wait. Sycamore offers 99.5% uptime, and upgrades are always done automatically and at no additional charge. How much is that worth to your school?
3) Reduction of Printing, Paper and Mail Expenses
Sycamore can help your school Go Green. Within Sycamore Education, parents and students can easily access report cards, newsletters, school news, calendars, sport schedules, etc. No more sending documents home with kids, and hoping they get delivered. Parents can even check on lunch or tuition balances and make payments, too. No need to send out statements via snail mail. And students can even turn in their assignments via Sycamore's Dropbox without ever having to print it out. Many schools save enough money on paper and postage to cover the entire cost of the Sycamore system.
4) Happy, Informed, and Connected Parents
Sycamore Education makes it so much easier for parents to stay connected and informed. So, how does a happy, informed and connected parent affect a school's income?
First some anecdotal information. My wife and I have 5 children, and they attend a private school that uses our system. She logs into the system nearly every day to check on grades, assignments, tests, lunch, etc. And if she has a question for a teacher, she doesn't have to call the school, leave a message, and then wait for a reply. She just sends the teacher a quick note using Sycamore's exclusive Pass-a-Note feature. If one of our kids fails to turn in an assignment, we know about it right away. If someone did poorly on a test (that never happens), we don't have to wait for report cards to find out about it. There's no doubt that our kids' grades have improved because we, as parents, know what's going on at the school.
That same situation is happening with thousands of families using Sycamore Education. Happy, informed parents are much more likely to keep their kids enrolled in your school, and they are going to feel better about paying that tuition bill when it comes due every month. And these same happy parents are going to tell other parents about the how organized and efficient your school is, which will likely lead to inreased enrollment.
5) Sponsor Ads
This one's not difficult to understand. Sycamore allows schools to to display sponsor ads within the system. Schools can have any number of ads scrolling within the system (click here for my post on this feature), and this is an easy way for schools to generate extra income.
The Tab Key...Use It!
Written by AdministratorSycamore Education is web-based, and I mean entirely web-based. That's a good thing. It means you don't need any special equipment, and you don't need to maintain servers, just to name a couple of the benefits. Our clients can login to Sycamore from any internet-connected computer and they will have complete access to the entire system. It's that simple.
The Sycamore system is incredibly intuitive, and wonderfully user-friendly, but here's a little tip to the uninitiated: use your 'tab' key! A member of our support team recently brought it to my attention that over the years, she'd repeatedly heard from teachers who commented that it took too much time to use the mouse to click on each data field in areas such as the student profile and address book. Simple solution: hit the 'tab' key.
For example, when you are sending a Pass-a-Note, the cursor will automatically appear in the 'subject' field. Type in your subject, hit 'tab', type in your message, hit 'tab', and now the submit button will be automatically be selected. Just hit 'enter' and you're done. This was done without ever using the mouse to point and click. This same holds true for most of the information you need to enter in the system.
