Schools Find New Way to Connect with Students

Layton, Utah—March 16, 2009—Northridge High School understands the problems that cell phones can cause in schools. But they have also recognized how productive they can be. Northridge High recently started a new program for sending information to students with Utah based texting company Frogzog. The system is run by student body officers who create the listings of school activities and information through the easy to use Frogzog computer location. Students then text the word Northridge to the number 40123 and receive text messages back with the latest school news and activities.

Northridge High has been looking for a new way to communicate with students for some time. Traditional methods of communication with students, such as announcements and posters, are not catching students' attention anymore. We are using Frogzog to increase attendance at school events, to create a closer knit school community, and increase school spirit. And it doesn't hurt that students think the faculty is just a little cooler now, said Principal Steve Hill. When we announced Frogzog, we had a demonstration of how texting works on their system. It was an instantaneous hit with students, as they whipped out their cell phones to try it out.

A recent use of Frogzog showed that in an age where students text more than talk, school supported texting grabbed their attention and spread faster than word of mouth could. The time and location of Northridge High's state tournament basketball game this month was announced last minute. Generally, this would result in lower attendance, especially considering the game was held at a distant location and at a very late time. Through Frogzog, students had access to the time, address, directions, and student body officers were even able to pass along the word to wear black, resulting in a far larger than normal crowd. We had a tremendous crowd, which was due in part to Frogzog - texting created a buzz beyond normal conversations, said Hill.

To Hill, one of the main benefits is being able to control the information. We can make sure information received by students is accurate, and everyone is getting same message instead of playing the rumor game, said Hill. Northridge High has had bad experiences with texting in the past, even an incident in which a single student's misunderstanding of a situation created fear throughout the community, as the student's texts were spread past the school and out to parents. Texting spreads like wildfire; we saw that happen when someone believed they saw a gun and texted all their friends. Within minutes, we were hearing from parents who thought there was a gun on campus, and it all spread from a single text, said Hill.

Hill and other administrators hope to harness that wildfire by being able to immediately have information available by text, should there be a real emergency. We have decided that this can is a tool, and we're trying to teach students on how to use phones properly. While cell phones can cause problems in schools, proper uses can have many benefits for our students from increasing school spirit to assisting in emergency situations.

Frogzog offers the texting program for free to schools who would like to use the technology to communicate with students. For more information about Frogzog, see www.frogzog.com.

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Press Contact

Melissa Cameron
melissa@frogzog.com
(801) 537-0900
PO Box 577
Centerville, Utah 84014