On 1/26 we made an important new release available to our pilot users. We continue to be pleased by the progress the product has made and how much use the product is getting from the pilot users. We are gathering valuable input from the users as they leverage the features of the product and many of the new features are a direct result of that feedback.
We are especially excited to release our SMS (text messaging) interface to the product. This feature was designed and specified by seven students at CART in a Joint Application Design (JAD) session. We are pleased that we were able to turn this around and that our relationship with CART allowed us to have this experience.
The highlights of this release are:
Calendar
- Repeating Events: Any event can now be set up to repeat in a number of practical ways
- Navigation Acceleration: Requested by several teachers at CART, when in any group calendar, there is now a pull down to quickly move to any other group calendar.
- Public events: Events on your calendar that you want to share with users who do not have Connected.info can be made public events. These events have a web address (URL) which you can share with people so they can view the event and its associated details.
Posting
- Multi-post: Within Blogs and Wikis, the calendar, and other parts of Connected.info, the system now recognizes that you may wish to have the same information appear in multiple places. For example, as a student, you may want a blog post to appear in your class group as well as a personal group. The system now facilitates this.
Forums
- Forums are a way to organize discussion topics so that the flow of conversation is easier to follow. Contrasted with a blog, where the author receives responses on a posting they have created, in Forums, any group member can post a topic.
Connections
- With Connected.info it is now possible to invite other members of your family and friends who are not affiliated with CART to join Connected.info. While they will not get the benefits of being able to interact with other students and teachers, you will be able to include them in your personal groups and share events with them.
Assignment Workflow
- This feature is a way for students to submit their completed assignments to their teachers electronically while allowing the teachers an easy way to view / review and assess the assignments. Teachers can see which students have submitted an assignment and students can see when a teacher has reviewed and assessed their submissions.
Messaging
- Interacting with Connected.info by way of SMS: A special feature designed by the students at CART. This allows a user to interact with Connected.info by text messages. For example, sending the text m@connected.info HW to the text message interface will return today’s homework assignments to the registered user of the cell phone.
With this release we are now able to invite anyone to experience the product features. If you are interested in receiving an invitation, please contact us at connect@connectedinfosys.com
