WhatsApp Channels - A Potential Winner for School Communication?

[Zoom7000]

We send everything by email, but a lot ends up in spam (particularly where we've mail-merged details and hence it gets processed as 1500 emails rather than 1 email with 1500 recipients).

 

We also have school facebook, twitter and instagram accounts which are used well - and triggers emails to IT of "I saw this on FB but you didn't email me it" where I reply "check your spam/junk folders".

 

I did see the WhatsApp channels this morning (from ANME) and forwarded to our marketing lady; I reckon it would be useful for message/event alerts if we leave out the "social" stuff, so it becomes a business noticeboard rather than social following.

 

I know a lot of parents who don't use/check email at all. But they will check WhatsApp, because they want to stay in touch with friends and family. The same people usually have emails flooded with spam.

[jthompson]

One imagines that WhatsApp Channels may become a bit spammy, too, with diminishing returns if not used with restraint. Like everything, I suppose.

[Zoom7000]

One imagines that WhatsApp Channels may become a bit spammy, too, with diminishing returns if not used with restraint. Like everything, I suppose.

 

Indeed, schools already do this with existing systems (ParentMail, Weduc, Arbor, Bromcom etc) because they are paying a lot of money for them and thus want to get the most out of their investment. I know, as a parent across 3 schools and staff across many more, I've seen the endless stream of information that has no relevance to me.

 

The negative impact here is that parents get fed up and some remove the app altogether or turn off notifications.

 

That's much more unlikely to happen with a system like WhatsApp, because it's simply tied in to a platform they use heavily already.

[LeMarchand]

Re the "Spam Overload" potential, it's pretty easy to mute or remove yourself from groups so it might be more "user friendly" to do so if people don't want constant notifications.

[howartp]

And if you're looking for something that you either know you've seen/been sent or have heard you've missed, it's easy to go to the school channel in Whatsapp and just see the info, rather than searching your emails for something in whichever inbox you filed it in (or didn't).

[Garacesh]

Re the "Spam Overload" potential, it's pretty easy to mute or remove yourself from groups so it might be more "user friendly" to do so if people don't want constant notifications.

 

You definitely wouldn't want to use groups! You can see the phone number of all other group members.

[LeMarchand]

You definitely wouldn't want to use groups! You can see the phone number of all other group members.

 

I was kinda assuming that channels will work similarly to groups in terms of muting/self-removal.

 

Muting the "christening" group I was recently part of certainly saved my phone from from dissolving in saccharine.

[Garacesh]

Yes but what I mean is you wouldn't want to use a group to disseminate information to parents.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I've understood the idea as "whack all the parents in a group chat, and then send it to the group chat", akin to how you'd use a mailing list.

If the parents are all in a group chat, they will be able to see the phone numbers of all the other parents.

[LeMarchand]

Yes but what I mean is you wouldn't want to use a group to disseminate information to parents.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I've understood the idea as "whack all the parents in a group chat, and then send it to the group chat", akin to how you'd use a mailing list.

If the parents are all in a group chat, they will be able to see the phone numbers of all the other parents.

 

The way I read it, Channels is a one-way thing that's a bit like a no-reply bcc'd email. The owner can send out stuff to the list, but all they can do is view it without knowing who else it has been sent to.

[Zoom7000]

And if you're looking for something that you either know you've seen/been sent or have heard you've missed, it's easy to go to the school channel in Whatsapp and just see the info, rather than searching your emails for something in whichever inbox you filed it in (or didn't).

 

Bear in mind the 30 day retention period for channels.

[howartp]

Bear in mind the 30 day retention period for channels.

Yeah that's fine; my use-case idea is for eg Year 7 Induction evening next week, or Y13 Consultation Evening tonight, or iPad collection arrangements for the new intake.

 

Each of those types of events are communicated no more than 3 weeks in advance, then there's 2-3 emails about them as we get nearer including their login codes for Parents Evening System (assuming TES haven't completely broken it!).