Taking advantage of the two-way communications feature
Bryan Adams High School High School Leadership Academy chemistry and geoscience teacher Jose Delgado has been using the district’s new two-way communications tool, Rooms, to communicate with his students’ guardians since it was launched last month. And he has found it helpful.
Among the features that he has liked best are:
- Having all the guardians listed in one place
- The ease of pulling in rosters
- Being able to message directly
- An app to download on his phone
As more Dallas ISD teachers start using this new feature in the district’s comprehensive communication system, parents will find they will need only one app to keep up with messages from their children’s teachers and will be able to do it in their preferred languages.
Since he started working in Dallas ISD as a middle school teacher, Delgado has used Class Dojo and Remind to communicate with his students and their guardians. These apps have been replaced by the Apptegy app, which parents can download for Android and iOS devices.
Rooms is already built right into the district’s app and the website from which the system is accessed, so it offers a secure messaging platform. Through the mobile app, students and families can access all of the information they need, including messages, events, lunch menus, and more in one place. Designated campus team members will continue to manage the calls, texts, and emails that go out to families as they have in the past. To learn more about the key features of Rooms, click here.
Rooms offers parents one place for messages instead of having to juggle between apps if they have children in different schools. They will be notified automatically of new messages even if they haven’t logged in or downloaded the app.
To get started, follow these steps:
- Log into Rooms using this link or the Apptegy tile in the Dallas ISD Portal (Rooms is found on the list as Connect). It is tied to the district’s SSO.
- Complete the guided orientation and introductory checklist.
- Send your first message to your families to introduce them to the platform.
To access the orientation checklist, you must login via a computer and complete all steps listed. Once you have finished the set-up, you can download the Apptegy Staff Experience app for a mobile experience if preferred. This app is for Dallas ISD staff only and allows you to access the communication platform and send and receive messages from your iOS or Android device. However, you can continue to access the system via the website.
If you need additional guidance, click on the question mark in the lower left corner of the site or the speech bubble icon at the lower right, which will connect you with Apptegy’s support team. If you have any questions about using the system, please contact the trainer at your school or Apptegy support at support@apptegy.com or (501) 613-0370.
