Ohio County Schools Rolls Out New Smartphone App
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WHEELING -- Ohio County students and their families often wanting to know if school is delayed or other news happening in the school district now have an app for that.
The school system has aligned itself with the Apptegy software company, and the new Ohio County Schools phone app soon will replace School Messenger as the call-out system for Ohio County Schools.
The app is available now to the general public, and no registration is needed for its service. It can be downloaded through the App Store on iPhones and GooglePlay on android devices by searching for Ohio County Schools.
The new platform, which includes the creation of a new webpage for Ohio County Schools, is set to launch in full by April 7, according to Patrick Riddle, technology coordinator for Ohio County Schools.
While the school district has maintained a web page in recent years, it has never had a phone app. Riddle and JoJo Shay, innovation coordinator, informed board of education members this week of the new technology.
Monday's board meeting was the last that will be live-streamed via Facebook, according to Riddle. Videos of upcoming meetings will be recorded and placed on the app the following day, at least for the time being, he explained.
Though the app has live-feed capabilities, school officials are still working out the details, Riddle said. Live-streaming of meetings will resume in the future.
Riddle told the board the app will replace School Messenger as the platform for informing families when school is canceled, delayed or when there is an early dismissal. Subscribers will get an alert on their smartphone, though the process does allow for voice calls as well — the same as with School Messenger — for those who do not have smartphones.
The change also won't happen immediately, and will give families a chance to update phone numbers they want in the system, according to Riddle.
He said the app isn't just limited to those with students in Ohio County Schools, and members of the community can join to get news about the schools in their neighborhood and their upcoming events.
The app allows the user to choose from a list of settings the individual school or schools from which they want news, and they can receive push alerts regarding happenings there.
Each school's Google calendar is synced with the app.
Administrators at the school buildings will be able to immediately update news and send out alerts, and eventually they will be able to live stream happenings from the building, according to Riddle.
The new Ohio County Schools website, meanwhile, will maintain its same address at boe.ohio.k12.wv.us.