Frequently advancements in technology take an extended period of time to be fully integrated into schools because of the cost of labor, product upgrade expenses and slow internal processes. However, the most recent innovations in telecom are not constricted by these barriers. The latest in calling and messaging technology allows for both SIP and SMS to be fully integrated with one another yet provide a host of individual benefits.
Moving to SIP Trunking from a traditional phone services can benefit schools both operationally and in the student experience.
According to eSchool ews, an online resource center for educators, 54% of school IT executives said the top benefit of unified and VoIP communications was reducing operating costs. VoIP technology can provide K-12 schools and higher education with a versatile communications solution that provides a number ways to save money, including.
Reduce equipment expenses – By transitioning to SIP, schools are able to eliminate the investment in on-premise IP equipment or a network infrastructure. The only hardware cost for schools becomes phones on the teacher’s desk.
Portability – SIP gives teachers and administrators to move phone lines without reinstalling anything making both teachers and classrooms more mobile than ever before. It also allows teachers who are on field trips or working with students in a location other than their classroom to still be easily accessible.
Reduced IT staff dependency – From the district level, the control given by an online portal allows for quickly and easily adding new users, redirecting calls to mobile devices and managing costs to all accomplished by a fraction of the number of employees.
Improved Reliability – Hosted PBX systems reside off site, so power outages and natural disasters will not bring down communications to your numbers.
In addition to these cost-saving and reliability benefits, VoIP-based services, such as Hosted PBX and SIP trunking, offer a slew of other advantages, including security. In an emergency, VoIP voice services have the technology to identify the precise location of where a 911 call was placed. VoIP can also enable notifications to designated staff when a 911 call is dialed. And, teachers and parents can get in touch with each other directly to/from the classroom.
SMS provides new opportunities for seamless communication between teachers, parents, students and the administration.
Not long ago texting in the classroom was seen as a distraction. Today texting has become a powerful tool for teachers and administrators alike to enhance the learning experience. Whether it is homework help, snow day notification or parent teacher communications texting is enabling open communication in a ways that has never before been experienced. 92% of American adults own a cellphone, making SMS more easily accessible than any other type of messaging.
Emergency Weather – Gone are the days of anxiously waiting around the TV or radio for your school to be listed as delayed or closed due to inclement weather. With SMS notifications schools can push out updates to family members and students as soon as decisions are made, ensuring each individual is alerted at the same time regardless of location or access to other technology.
Absences – If a parent needs to notify the school that their child is ill or will be late, the ability to text allows the school to have a permanent record of the notification easily at hand. Conversely if the school needs to notify a parent that their child is not in class texting allows for quick and immediate communication,. Text enabled phone number allow the parent to call the school back if they have a concern on that same number.
Neighborhood Safety – In the case of an intruder in a school or in the surrounding neighborhoods SMS notification can be much more secure than phone lines. The administration can notify parents or students to stay away from the campus until notified and it can also silently update teachers and administrators across campus about what is going on in other parts of the building.
Easy responses – The ability vote and answer using SMS it can be an easy way to take attendance, RSVP for an event or vote at an assembly or across campus. With a number assigned to each individual person SMS allows for convenient and immediate communication across all stakeholders in the education field.
Innovate in education with telecom.
By enabling seamless and efficient calling and messaging capabilities schools don’t have to decide between the best option for their budgets and the quality of the user experience, both cost savings and increased communications opportunities are within reach. Sign up for a Flowroute account now or checkout our developer portal for easy to use telecom resources.
