Education Case study
SchoolWiki: school communication app for parents and staff
SchoolWiki, a school communication platform: web API, parent site and iOS/Android apps for events, notices, messages, newsletters and absence reports, with a setup wizard.
Overview
SchoolWiki is a school communication platform. Parents and staff follow events, messages, newsletters, notes, sport and school policies in one app, with data per student rather than per class, calendar sync, absence and change-of-details forms, and a staff-only section. We built the web API behind it, a parent site, and the iOS and Android apps, plus a setup wizard so each school can configure itself.
The challenge
Parents need events, messages, notices and absence reporting in one app across many schools, each with its own branding, and some data belongs to a student rather than to a class.
What we built
- A documented web API serving the mobile apps and the web site
- A parent site with registration, login, student management and email reminders
- iOS and Android apps for parents and staff: a home menu of school features, events with calendar sync, messages, newsletters, notes, sport and teams, latest news, school policies, absence and change-of-details forms, a staff-only section, language choice and a setup guide
- Push notifications and store releases for both apps
- Per-school branding and setup: logo, colour, short app name, policies and contact details
- Import of events and other data from a school data service, using that service's REST API, and integration with a parents' planner database
- SMS notifications to parents, and notifications on the web
- A setup wizard for school configuration and user management
- A Windows service for background tasks
- Home page, banner, icon and splash screen design, and API and database tuning
- SSL and server maintenance
Technology used
| Layer | Choice | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | iOS (Objective-C), Android (Java) | apps for parents and staff |
| Server | ASP.NET Web API | services for the apps and the parent site |
| Data | MySQL | school, student and notice data |
| Background | Windows service | scheduled and background tasks |
| Messaging | SMS, push notifications | parent and staff alerts |
What happened next
- Delivered
The work described above was delivered to the client.
- Operational facts
- Our work on this project spanned 2015–2018.
- It was maintained and extended over 3 years.
Screens
Could this be your project?
- You need a web application with user accounts, admin tools and reporting. Website and web app development
- You are planning an iOS or Android app, or have one that needs a stronger back end behind it. Mobile app development
- You work in education and want a team that has built for it before. Education work
Questions about this project
How long did this project take?
Our work on it ran from 2015 to 2018.
What technology was used?
iOS, Android, ASP.NET, MySQL, Web API, Windows service, SMS, Push notifications, Java, Objective-C.
Was it maintained and extended over time?
Yes. Our work on this project was maintained and extended over 3 years, from 2015 to 2018.
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