Last week our school held it's annual family math night. Kids run around the gym from table to table getting stamps for completion of each station. At the end, they trade in their completed and stamped paper for prizes, homework passes and refreshments. While looking around the gym, I couldn't help but notice how many parents were on their cellphones, most likely texting family and friends, checking email or confirming a calendar date.
What if those same parents had access to a school app? They could stay up to date with Home & School events, report school bullying, see recent photos and more. Meeting parents where they are, schools can easily create a free family engagement app for parents and guardians.
There are several choices out there, but I used Webmobi to create our school's app- The Knapp App. In a matter of minutes, I created a mobile web app while choosing from a variety of themes and layouts. I had the option to add video, polls, Twitter, forms, photos and more. Version 1.0 of our school app only uses a portion of the features -all available at no charge.
These screenshots provide visuals on the features our families can now take advantage of. You can customize each page according to the needs of your families. Direct phone numbers to the office, guidance counselor, nurse and principal allow parents to share and receive information in seconds. We've embedded our Google calendar that include all dates and times. Future updates will include opportunities for parents to volunteer at these events. The Twitterfeed allows parents (with or without a Twitter acct) to stay up to date with the day's happenings and see pictures taken from the classrooms around the school. Finally, version 1.0 includes the week's student-led television show archive as well as other district-related updates.
Below is a video highlighting the steps you'll need to take to make your own Webmobi school app. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. The folks over at Webmobi were also very helpful during the process of designing our app.
What if those same parents had access to a school app? They could stay up to date with Home & School events, report school bullying, see recent photos and more. Meeting parents where they are, schools can easily create a free family engagement app for parents and guardians.
There are several choices out there, but I used Webmobi to create our school's app- The Knapp App. In a matter of minutes, I created a mobile web app while choosing from a variety of themes and layouts. I had the option to add video, polls, Twitter, forms, photos and more. Version 1.0 of our school app only uses a portion of the features -all available at no charge. 
These screenshots provide visuals on the features our families can now take advantage of. You can customize each page according to the needs of your families. Direct phone numbers to the office, guidance counselor, nurse and principal allow parents to share and receive information in seconds. We've embedded our Google calendar that include all dates and times. Future updates will include opportunities for parents to volunteer at these events. The Twitterfeed allows parents (with or without a Twitter acct) to stay up to date with the day's happenings and see pictures taken from the classrooms around the school. Finally, version 1.0 includes the week's student-led television show archive as well as other district-related updates. Below is a video highlighting the steps you'll need to take to make your own Webmobi school app. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. The folks over at Webmobi were also very helpful during the process of designing our app.
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8 comments:
I'm wondering how you got the contact information on the bottom? I'm building our school's now. Thanks so much for posting this!!!!
Hi Farrah- If you're talking about the first page of the app, I changed that at the bottom of the initial registration screen. If you tweet @web_mobi, Sachin can help you. He was really helpful as I made mine. Help parents/teachers save it to their mobile desktops to maximize use. Good luck! DM me if you need anything @joe_mazza
Amazing.Really agree with your blog.That's a great to build that type of app..Thanks for the sharing!!
What is the cost for the service?
Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you need any help- jm
It's a free web app site. We haven't paid a cent!
How did you get them to allow the mobile download for free? I've built something but have to have the "enterprise" membership!
With the free acct you are able to get 5 free pages. This is sufficient for our needs at this time. Working on version II to release for September...
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