Cell phone is the new medium of message for Bangalore colleges

Like it or not, cell phones have undoubtedly become an intrinsic part of a youngsters’ life today.

Disgruntled adults often express their exasperation at youngsters’ obsession with cell phones and many educational institutions ban their use on campus.

But some colleges in the city are cashing in on this fascination and putting technology to good use.

Sample this. St Joseph’s College of Commerce sends out SMSes to students to make important announcements, including those related to exam time-tables, special programmes at the college, exam results,  emergency alerts such as an accident or urgent blood donation etc.

“This is a convenient way through which we can connect with students quickly. For instance, if a morning class at 7 am is rescheduled to 8 am, we send SMSes (short message services)  to the students. It is a hassle-free system,” says Rev Daniel Fernandes, principal, St Joseph’s College of Commerce.

Another institute that has been using the mobile technology for quite some time now is the School of Graduate Studies, Jain University. Depending on the nature of the announcement, the message is sent either to the parents or the students. “If the students do not have a phone, then we send all the messages to the parents’ phone. We need to move ahead with the times, and use methods which youngsters are more comfortable with,” says Mythili P Rao, Centre Head of the College.

“However, we make sure that students do not use their phone in the classroom. Also, before the SMSes are sent, a sample message is sent to me, following which it is sent to the students,” she adds.

The colleges also make sure that the messages are sent only before or after class hours so that students are not distracted during lecture sessions.

The SMS alerts, many a time provide a gist, where upon the student can log on to the college website, to avail of the detailed information. “When the attendance is updated or results are announced, we send out an SMS. Students have an account where they can log in and check complete details,” says Kumaresh Subramanian, IT manager, St Joseph’s College of Commerce, who has been facilitating the service.