Breakthrough in Technology Changes Classroom Communication Forever

Roger Wyatt, President and CEO of Tynken Interactive announces Signal, a breakthrough in technology that allows teachers to post class notes, homework, schedules and a myriad of other content to their web pages by simply sending an email.

All users need to do is type a code in the subject line, and the system directs the contents of the email to the appropriate section of their web page.

“What is really great about this is that it turns the system on its head. What I kept hearing is that the majority of teachers don't have the time or desire to be web designers, and that they are therefore stuck either doing nothing or spending time learning new software” said Wyatt. “Now all they have to do is send an email, and the system does it for them. This saves a significant amount of time, and makes better, faster classroom communication very easy. First we completely changed the way teachers interact with their web applications. Now we are bringing about a second revolution – allowing them to post to their sites using only email”

“I had been talking with teachers about some of their issues. One of the main ones was not having the time to learn software to maintain a teacher web page. In fact, only 10% of the teachers in any school create a teacher page when given the opportunity. They all said the same thing – “I don't have the time to learn a new system”. Now they don't have to. This new system is unbelievably powerful. It is set it up to allow posting of just about anything – scores, schedules, menus, etc – in addition to class notes, homework, and the other class information” said Wyatt.

“And there is no need for training – they just send an email for the instructions and the system emails them the user guide – all 1 page of it. So the technology coordinators don't need to spend any time training the teachers in using the application – there's no training required. And there are built-in safeguards. For example, if the teacher forgets to put a due date on the homework assignment, the system will not post it, but send an email asking for the due date before posting.”

This breakthrough was an extension of the work that Tynken had been doing on their groundbreaking content management system that takes communication in general at educational institutions to a new level. Named Frequency, the new platform had been years in development, and came out of the gate looking vastly different from other CMS.

“The last revolutionary development in user interface was 5 or more years ago with tabbed navigation. We knew there was a better way for users to get things done. Our interface is so intuitive, you won't believe how easy it is to put information on the web” says Wyatt. “Tabs are now very old-school, and it is about time”. Incorporated into Frequency is Wavelength, a platform for teachers, parents and students to share information and gauge learning progress. The tools available include class notes, homework  assignments, class library, digital lockers, electronic homework submission, personal student calendars, sticky-note messaging, discussion boards and chat sessions.

“Knowledge is power, for sure, and communication is the key to obtaining and retaining that knowledge” says Wyatt. “We wanted to develop a web platform that is so easy to use that the focus is on what is being communicated, not how”. As a result, Frequency is getting rave reviews from customers. David Deweese, Technology Director for Marlboro County Schools in South Carolina said “Frequency is great; it makes a lot of sense. We've found other systems to be too restrictive; you can do so much more with
Frequency. And the best part? It is easy to use. If you know Word, Excel or Powerpoint, you can use Frequency. It is intuitive”.

Tynken Interactive is currently focusing on serving private and public schools in the Southeastern United States. For more information visit www.tynken.com