Large Scale Implementation of SMS

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Large Scale Implementation of SMS

• Alison Halstead a.halstead_at_wlv.ac.uk
• Kris Popat Kris_at_ultralab.net
• John Traxler j.traxler_at_wlv.ac.uk

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Aims and Objectives

• Assess usefulness of administration info
• Evaluation of subject based learning and teaching
• Identification of staff development needs
• Impact of intervention on retention
• Guidelines on purposes and benefits
• Issues for implementation
• Embedding SMS with ePortfolio
• Generation of a technology tookit for
  groupcasting media nuggets

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The Background

• Earlier Work

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Pilot SMS survey
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Pilot SMS survey
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Pilot SMS survey
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Large-scale SMS survey
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The Project

• Five Schools of the University
• Art and Design
• Applied Sciences
• Education
• Engineering
• Humanities and languages
• One module at level 1
• Year 1 Administrative information
• Year 2 Learning and Teaching

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Typical Administrative information

• pastoral
• assessment prep, feedback support
• organisational
• reminders
• appointments
• cancellations changes
• representation
• voting student reps, issues for discussion

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Examples of Learning and Teaching

• Group discussion by SMS
• Creative writing and reflection via SMS
• SMS dictionary and vocabulary-builder
• Reflective diaries in SMS
• Tips and FAQs
• Data gathering from field work by SMS
• Mini-lectures in MMS
• Multimedia assignments in Art and Design

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Technology
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Technology Nuts and Bolts

• What does it do?
• Hub for all text and media messages
• Group-casting
• Logging
• Message costing - against cost centres
• Two way messaging build rules for message
  receipt
• Message conference building
• Plugin architecture for extensions
• Full web-service interface
• Web-based administration

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Technology Nuts and Bolts

• How does it do those things?
• Stand-alone server which communicates this
  provider
• Admin interface using currently using php
• An email interface for use with commercial
  products such as SITS
• A full web-service interface for use with VLEs
  and home grown systems
• All message sending/receiving, administration,
  group definitions etc possible through web
  interface
• Groups can be defined in a flexible way
• Registration of Users
• CSV
• LDAP

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Technology Rationale

• Each system talks to a separate provider
• Groups are defined in many ways
• Many systems dont deal with receipt
• No MMS (multi-media messaging) support
• Limited extensibility for pedagogic applications

Current Systems
The principle rationale was to develop a system
which supplied a platform for research in
messaging for HE and allowed the pedagogic
needs/ideas of the staff to guide its use and
design. Also of importance was to create a tool
which would add value to the current messaging
provision of an institution supplying tools
which allowed for greater integration, tracking
and costing.
MELaS System
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Technology System
Clients?
MELaS System
Providers
Admin, Group Management, Receipt Rules, Pedagogic
Applications (outside VLE), Plugin Config etc
Example SITS
Example Esendex
Standalone Server
Example Pebble Pad
Email
C/Java Open-Source Open Standards
Example Ultra-SMS
Web-Services
SMS
LDAP
Example Open Directory
MMS
Example SMTP
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Outputs

• Guidelines on purposes and benefits of SMS
• Technology toolkit for groupcasting media nuggets
• Papers on
• Staff Development needs
• Learner experience of SMS admin
• Learner expereince of SMS L and T
• Impact of intervention on retention
• Issues on implementation