[A cheeky post , this one - republishing a fragment of my Micro-Information Services web page, which is a couple of years old now, almost verbatim...]
An EMERG [now disbanded...] briefing to the Learning and Teaching Committee (LTIC) identified several potential benefits to using text messaging for student siupport. As well as resonating with image conscious younger students, the personal nature of the medium can make it more effect than other channels, such as email.
The briefing also identifes several ways in which text messages can be sent:
A short LTIC funded project on 'Text Messaging for Student Support' (LTIC/01/21 - the intranet link to the relevant document is, of course broken...) run by Ormond Simpson in Region 06 provided tutors with mobile phones so that they could communicate students using text messaging.
The project found that the majority of messages sent were, as one might expect. "brief and factual, [f]or example, confirming the receipt of a TMA or rminders to students about tutorial details".
The medium was not appropriate for academic explanations of course concepts, or emotional support.
The project report stressed the importance of "match[ing] the technology to appropriate need" and ensuting "that the medium is appropriate to the message".
One issue with using text messaging is that there is acost, albeit a small one, associated with the transmission of each individual message. For student-OU transactions, this cost will be born by the student. However, OU-student messages would be paid for by the OU (although a discounted rate, resulting from the bulk purchase of message bandwidth).
(Various models are possible for trying to offset the cost of sending messages. For example, people sending a message to a particular number may be charged a higher than normal rate for the message. Alternatively, revenue may be generated as a consequence of users making a purchase that was faciltated via the messaging servic. For example, txtbux.co.uk offers a service by which you can txt an ISBN number to the service and receive by return of text a price quote from Amazon. The service generates revenues by purchasing the book (details of which are saved to a personal area as a side-effect of the txt request) via the txtbux website.)
In an OU context, there are several distinct user groups we may wish to support, such as potential students, current students and Associate Lecturers.
In this exploratory project, the intention is to explore the potential application of range of services provided by sms2email.com. The services include:
It is easy to think up many different applications that can be generated from these services.
Note that whenever a text message is returned to the student, there is a small cost overhead associated with sensing the message. This project will aim to identify services that represent value to students and that are likely to improve retention on the one hand, or minimise expense to the OU on the other (for example, costs associated in handling a telephone enquiry when a simple textback equivalent will meet the student's needs).
This activity will also consider various models for using the PocketThis approach allows subscribers to retrieve web-based content from websites using the service to their mobile phone. This may be useful for retrieving book references, or tutorial details, for example.
Although not an SMS service, the project will also consider how the use of callback facilities, such as this service provided by comxo. These services allow users to request a telephone call back to them from a button placed on a web page, which can facilitate additional, timely support.
A cruder variant can easlily be implemented using the email2sms service at a personal level, for example by providing a phone number entry form and a button on a web page that emails a 'callmeback' message to a personal mobile phone.