Blended learning: optimal student communication in new normal

Whilst students are currently studying remotely, the general consensus in education is that come September, blended learning will be the norm. Lecturers will mostly take palace online, whilst small tutorial groups could take place on campus. Blended learning, however, creates a lot of challenges for educational institutions. Studying remotely requires perfect communication while learning on campus demands adherence to the latest social distancing guidelines. With StuComm Campus Essentials, you will be able to face these challenges head-on and overcome them.

In recent months, StuComm has been working closely with multiple educational institutions to ensure student communication is optimised during these unprecedented times. With the introduction of blended learning (the combination of in-person education and virtual learning), student communication is more important than ever. That is why StuComm created Campus Essentials: a version of the StuCommApp with the most relevant features for these challenging times. StuComm Campus Essentials will be offered for a reduced price for the remainder of 2020 and can be implemented right away.

Communication

Many students prefer in-person learning over virtual learning and want to be on campus to study or work on assignments. Clear and fast communications are crucial in informing students about the latest guidelines and precautionary measures, as well as new developments. With StuComm Campus Essentials, you are able to reach your students directly on their smartphones, through push notifications. All the notifications they receive can be viewed later in their personalised message centre, so students will never miss an important update from their institution. It is also possible to show a message on the home screen or as a pop-up when they log in, to make sure they do not miss anything.

Overcrowding on campus

An important consideration of in-person education is the distance people need to keep between one another. Safety is the most important factor at this point in time, which means educational institutions will have to limit the number of people present on campus. With the Campus Sign-In feature, both students and staff can use the StuCommApp to anonymously check-in on campus. This provides the institution with a real-time dashboard, showing the number of people present on the entire campus and in specific locations, such as the library. Institutions are able to choose the check-in locations themselves, such as the entire campus, classrooms or shared spaces such as the cafeteria or library. Checking in and out of locations is completely anonymous, protecting the privacy of all students and staff.

Important information

In addition to informing students using push notifications and in-app notifications, institutions are also able to provide a variety of information in the app. It is possible to share updates in the news section, as well as create a section in the app with important information. This is a dynamic section institutions can use to share content such as contact details, opening hours and links to other sources of information including the virtual learning environment.

Feedback

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, educational institutions were forced to switch to virtual learning. New digital services had to be implemented and all education programs had to be adjusted accordingly. These changes have impacted the way students are going about their studies significantly. To keep on providing students with the best possible student experience, gaining feedback is vitally important. StuComm Campus Essentials contains a Feedback feature within the app. Institutions create short surveys about the virtual learning experience or other digital services and can send these surveys out to individuals, multiple students or the entire student population. Students receive the survey in their app and are able to fill out the survey without having to visit a third-party site. As everything is in the StuCommApp, the response rate is high, resulting in a lot of valuable input for institutions to optimise their online education and digital services.

Branding & ease of use

The StuCommApp containing Campus Essentials is a white-label smartphone application. This means institutions are able to decide upon the icon used for the app in addition to the name and colour of the app. By utilising your own institution’s branding, students will have a consistent student experience. Getting started in the app is also a seamless experience as students can log in using their existing login details.

Want to learn more about StuComm Campus Essentials? Fill out our contact form or reach out to Luke Billings!