MGM Wireless has launched an innovative SMS Messaging Solution for Childcare Centres to make it easy to stay in touch with today’s generation of time-poor parents.

Using MGM’s Outreach™ with SmartSync™, Childcare Centres will be able to rapidly locate up-to-date contact details for parents and guardians and send a message to one or more parents or groups.

The typical messages are related to late breaking news, centre events and reminders, especially regarding logistics around child pickup times or access to the Centre.

MGM Wireless Executive Chairman Mark Fortunatow said that the launch follows trials and testing in South Australia, where 20 Childcare Centres are now using the SMS service.

“Today’s generation of parent depends on their mobile phone and are expert users of text messaging,” Mr Fortunatow said. “They are busy, want to be kept informed of events at their child’s daycare centre but they can’t always take phone calls during the working day. When they come home, they’re also too busy or tired and centre newsletters can be left unread…For the Centre, it means reduced phone call costs and less time spent on the phone discussing routine matters.”

MGM Childcare SMS Solutions seamlessly access parent contact records held in the centres’ existing Childcare Management systems such as Spike™, QikKids™, and KindCare™.

MGM Wireless SMS solutions are now used in well over 750 Schools and Childcare facilities.

Note: MGM Messages incorporate secure, direct routing to Australian carriers, which ensures reliability and meets all legislated Australian Child Safety and Privacy requirements.

Media Contact:

MGM Wireless Ltd. – (ASX:MWR)
Mark Fortunatow, CEO
Mobile: +61 421 328 984
Phone: +61 8 8431 2300
Email: mfortunatow@mgmwireless.com
Web: www.mgmwireless.com

About MGM Wireless Ltd and Messageyou, LLC

“The MGM board is delighted with this decision by the New Zealand Government, and we look forward to working closely with the ministry,” MGM chief executive officer Mark Fortunatow said.

“MGM will commence the rollout in June utilising a senior executive with long-standing links with New Zealand and build on the small business we had established some years back.”

“We intend to put our best foot forward on this in order to fully support the Government’s truancy initiative.”

The NZ Government has been cracking down on school truancy, including legislating last year to make it easier to fine parents of persistent truants.

It is estimated more than 4 per cent of NZ’s 750,000 students are truant each day.

MGM’s technology allows for SMS messages automatically to be sent to parents alerting them to a student’s absence and requesting an explanation.

Its products are in use in Australia and the US.

Smartsync™ maintains the latest record of family contact details for emergency and general communication for schools using the MGM Wireless cloud based Outreach™ SMS platform.

Combined with Outreach™, it provides a highly secure, specialised solution for schools to contact a student’s caregiver using the most up-to-date contact details and based only on knowing the student’s name – on a school-wide, class-wide, or individual student basis.

MGM Wireless Executive Chairman Mark Fortunatow said that Smartsync™ demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to assisting schools keep pace with the changes in today’s technology-driven society.

“Today’s family structures are more fluid than ever before,” Mr Fortunatow says. “This means that schools are typically having to keep track of several caregivers for each child who may have contact details that are subject to change.

“Smartsync™ overcomes this problem because when the school changes a contact detail for a child in the school management system, it will automatically update the SMS records.

“When the school receives an SMS from a caregiver they know whether or not it’s been validated through the school’s enrollment process. Smartsync™ makes Outreach™ even more effective and efficient for schools to streamline their school-to-home communication.”

Recent events such as flood, bushfire and cyclone underline the need for every school to have an easy way to contact all parents in an emergency, and the service also dovetails with the powerful Outreach™ scheduling facility.

“This means that schools can schedule an SMS broadcast, say for a junior school performance, to reach parents of year 7s, 8s, 9s at a particular date and time,” Mr Fortunatow explained.

“When that day comes around, the Outreach™ system will be looking at all the kids enrolled at that time and send the message. Families who no longer have children at the school won’t be sent messages but any new people who have enrolled will get the message. It’s a dynamically changing data structure.

“The service meets the need to communicate across the school community, from old scholars to parent and teacher groups, public or private, all the way from the largest to the smallest school can benefit.”

MGM Wireless School Messaging

MGM Wireless offers a suite of School Messaging products, from roll-marking to attendance to social communication. Its popular Outreach™ web-based messaging system allows schools to rapidly locate parent contact details and manage communication to constantly changing family group structures. The system:

• Eliminates the need to manually transfer data from the school’s current student management system – a process that is time consuming, error-prone and often requiring specialist IT skills.

• Ensures parent contact data need only be updated in one application – the school’s existing Student Management System.

• Ensures that school users can always be confident that the data they are using in Outreach™ is up-to-date – an important requirement when communicating late breaking news to the parent community.

• Enables schools to send SMS securely from the school or using any web connection, making it ideal in emergencies such as weekend notification of school closure for swine flu pandemic, and other issues.

With Smartsync™, school-parent contact data is continually being synched with Outreach™, which is hosted in an Australia based ASIO security cleared and ISO quality certified facility with three levels of redundancies. Primary, secondary and tertiary redundant services such as servers, power, internet and air-conditioning are all serviced by Tier 1 carriers.

This means that even in the direst circumstances – a school being under water due to flooding, or destroyed by earthquake or bushfire, the school will be able to contact its entire community from any web connection, because the application is held in cloud.

Mr Fortunatow said that Smartsync™ demonstrates the company’s continued investment in technology and innovation.

“Offering continual upgrades and evolution in a product life cycle highlights that we are at the cutting edge of educational technology and reinforces the value to schools.

“We give senior school leadership in particular the confidence that the MGM solution is for the longer term and is not a short term fix.”

Smartsync™ is currently compatible with 44 of the leading Student Management Databases in Australia.

About MGM Wireless

MGM Wireless is the Australian leader and specialist supplier of School to Parent SMS communication solutions. MGM Wireless’s reputation for security is well established and its School Messaging products are used by Government Education Departments in Western Australia, New South Wales and New Zealand. Smartsync™ uses secure internet protocol HTTPS and data encryption, meaning confidential school data stays as secure as technically possible. This is the same technology currently used by Australian Banks.

MGM Wireless, the MGM Wireless logo and Smartsync™ are registered trademarks of MGM Wireless Holdings Pty. Ltd. or a related company. All other products and company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Various components and features of Smartsync™ are protected by Australian Innovation Parents.

T 1800 300 346

www.mgmwireless.com

MGM Wireless Executive Chairman Mark Fortunatow said the state-of-the art ICO facility would provide speed, reliability and a standard of security that can only be found in an Australian based data centre. 

“MGM deals with sensitive data relating to child safety and we were concerned that we moved to the most secure facility available,” Mr Fortunatow said.

“The Federal Government recently issued a warning to businesses that some overseas facilities do not recognise the same rights to privacy as they do in Australia.

“The ICO Data Centre has an ASIO T4 security clearance and both the Data Centre and ICO Support Operations are also ISO/IEC 27001 certified to the ISO quality standard. Network Connectivity has three levels of redundancies. Its primary, secondary and tertiary redundant links are all serviced by Tier 1 carriers.”

MGM Wireless has a suite of products, from roll-marking to attendance and school event communication. Its popular Outreach™ web-based messaging system allows schools to rapidly locate parent contact details and manage communication to constantly changing family group structures.

“The priority for schools is to be able to reach parents quickly and reliably,” Mr Fortunatow said. “The new facility means that even in the direst circumstances – a school being under water due to flooding, or destroyed by earthquake or bushfire – the Principal will be able to contact their entire community from any web connection, because the application is held in cloud.”

MGM Wireless currently serves over 700 schools across Australia, is the preferred supplier for the Western Australia Department of Education, NSW Education Department Sydney Region and New Zealand Ministry of Education, and serves many of Australia’s leading Independent, Lutheran and Catholic Schools.

About ICO


ICO’s $80m Data Centre, located in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde, offers the highest availability to its customers through a dual-homed, tri-piped geographically dispersed redundant network. The Data Centre operates and is manned 24×7. It is a highly secure facility which will pass the most stringent security audits. It is certified by SAI Global to International Security standard ISO/IEC 27001 (previously known as AS/BS 7799 or ISO 17799). It also has a full-time security team on duty 24 x 7. There is no more modern, secure or better designed facility in Australia. It is has true N+1 redundancy throughout. Put in simple terms, that means that whatever might fail, there is at least one backup to take its place.

About MGM Wireless Ltd and Messageyou, LLC

MGM Wireless Ltd is a South Australian (Adelaide) based socially responsible public company with a market capitalisation of A$1.7 m listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX code: MWR). The company trades as Messageyou, LLC in the United States, based in Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale, California.

MGM Wireless is recognized in Australia and internationally as a pioneer of technology-enabled school communications with a proven capacity to design, develop and successfully commercialise innovative world class technology products in Australia and internationally.

The company’s patented SMS School communication solutions empower schools to effectively communicate to parents and caregivers using SMS text messaging to improve student attendance, welfare, safety and parent engagement. Measurable benefits for schools include reduced operating costs, increased productivity and improved parent and community engagement which ultimately improve student learning and social outcomes.

Schools in Australia, New Zealand and the United States use MGM Wireless software in their day-to-day operations.

The World Intellectual Property Office has accepted all claims related to this patent, MGM Wireless said.

WIPO has declared that the applications based on the company’s msgPool technology meet requirements for novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability.

A spokesperson for Collison and Co, trademark attorneys for MGM Wireless, said it is rare for any application to receive such a positive reception.

MGM Wireless said it is now free to pursue an Australian launch of the School News Channel platform – which will enable schools to send SMS alerts and updates to parents – through social media channels and sales representatives.

The EN service will be used to build IT capability in a drive to improve student attendance and engagement. It is part of a far-reaching program of 12 initiatives announced by the New Zealand Minister of Education in February 2010.

EN allows schools to send text messages to groups of parents and caregivers to quickly inform them of unexplained absences. It also provides a return path to the school’s attendance register to update the reasons for a student’s absence, which results in streamlined office work flow as well as improved attendance.

According to the New Zealand Ministry website, “Schools using EN are very positive about the benefits and once introduced into the community parents and caregivers are also quick to appreciate it.”

EN is used in conjunction with the Electronic Attendance Register module of each school’s Student Management System, making it easy to implement.

MGM Wireless Executive Chairman Mark Fortunatow said the announcement of the New Zealand rollout comes at a time when MGM Wireless is growing its customer base in Australia.

“With the start of the school year, Principals and schools leaders are looking at innovative technology to improve attendance and communication with parents,” Mr Fortunatow said.

“During the recent natural disasters in Queensland and Victoria, schools have turned to MGM Wireless to offer SMS communication solutions and we will be implementing emergency text communications free of charge to affected schools.

“The continued success of the New Zealand Government initiative shows the importance of mobile messaging technology to instantly contact parents whenever their children’s safety or welfare is at risk. 

“In today’s world there really is absolutely no reason why every parent can’t be instantly notified if their child has not arrived to school without any valid explanation. The MGM Wireless solutions provide an excellent outcome for student safety, while providing schools with an efficient, cost saving service and parents with peace of mind.”

Please note that Principals and Schools Leaders are available for interviews or quotes.

About MGM Wireless Ltd and Messageyou, LLC

MGM Wireless Ltd is a South Australian (Adelaide) based socially responsible public company with a market capitalisation of A$1.7 m listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX code: MWR. The company trades as Messageyou, LLC in the United States, based in Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale, California.

MGM Wireless is recognized in Australia and internationally as a pioneer of technology-enabled school communications with a proven capacity to design, develop and successfully commercialise innovative world class technology products in Australia and internationally.

The company’s patented SMS School communication solutions empower schools to effectively communicate to parents and caregivers using SMS text messaging to improve student attendance, welfare, safety and parent engagement. Measurable benefits for schools include reduced operating costs, increased productivity and improved parent and community engagement which ultimately improve student learning and social outcomes.

Schools in Australia, New Zealand and the United States use Messageyou software in their day to day operations.

* Address:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/Schools/Initiatives/ManagedLearningEnvironments/DataSharingServices/EarlyNotification.aspx

The company revealed it was well advanced with development of the system, and expects to be able to unveil a prototype on 22 November. The final product should be completed by the time the new school year starts in March 2011.

MGM CEO, Mark Fortunatow, said MGM Wireless developed Rollstar based on the growing popularity of cloud services.“As the National Broadband Network is deployed across Australia, we will see a change in the way schools think about their software needs. [They will] re-engineer their business process to take advantage of the opportunities cloud computing has to offer,” he said.

MGM expects the tipping point for cloud adoption to occur sometime in the next year or two, he added.

While the product was developed off-shore, Australian student data will remain locally stored within an Australian cloud environment, MGM said. Design and testing of Rollstar was carried out in Adelaide.

The creation of the service means MGM will not have to support many installations at individual schools, and will only have to patch its software once rather than sending updates to hundreds of customers, Fortunatow said.

messageyouSchools remains a potent weapon in the fight against truancy according to the review, said MGM Wireless Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mark Fortunatow. Australian and American schools were continuing to adopt messageyouSchools because of its effectiveness in a variety of school situations.

MGM Wireless continuously reviews the efficiency and effectiveness of its products, Mr Fortunatow said. And this recent review presented to the SA Government shows that the introduction and continued use of our leading edge products is extremely effective.

Here are some examples from the survey: (The names and locations of the schools have been changed to protect the privacy of the school and its community).

School A

A small community school of fewer than 400 students, located in a country town. Approximately 30% of parents receive Government income assistance. The school chose MGM Wireless to assist with the implementation of Messageyou (text messaging), to provide an automated daily absence communication solution for parents and school staff.

School leaders and staff were engaged in a planning and training process, led by an MGM consultant.

The system went live, in January 2008 and results assessed in May 2008. School staff show;

a dramatic reduction in the following unauthorised absences;

Junior School 76% reduction

Middle School 81% reduction

Senior School 63% reduction

positive feedback from parents, with most parents sending notes or using reply SMS (35%)

The tailor-made solution enabled the school to;

Communicate quickly with parents of bus students (about one third of the student population).

Ensure roll marking accuracy for senior students who are involved in vocational education, including work placement external to the school.

Support the work of an Indigenous education worker.

The solution also ensured that those families who lived in mobile phone black holes were able to receive text to voice communication by landline phone.

Mr Fortunatow said: This tailor-made solution showed the flexibility of the product when faced with circumstances not found in urban settings.

School B (The primary school solution package)

A Primary School (430 students) located in a middle to high socio economic suburb of a capital city, sought our assistance to explore how our communication solutions could contribute to safety and duty of care. The school wanted to enhance already strong connections with the parent community and at the same time reinforce expectations of student punctuality. Student attendance was considered satisfactory.

The principal and school project team used the introduction of Messageyou to introduce significant changes to the process of entering roll data into the schools Student Information Management System (SIS). Changes were also made to the process of recording and following up on late students.

A review conducted with the assistance of MGM in April 2008 showed;

up to 80% of parents used SMS to inform the school about absence or lateness.
there was a 41% improvement in lateness issues
Unexplained absences dropped by 3.7% from 6.7% to 3% (an improvement of 55%)
Attendance across the school rose from an average of 93.2% to 96.9%

As a result of the review, further modifications were made to the process of processing late students.

School C – School District (USA)

Two schools in an East Coast USA District, introduced messageyouSchools and messageyouWatchlists part way through the second semester of the 2007/2008 School Year. The project was driven by the District Superintendent, who set high expectations of school and district staff to make a difference in student attendance. The two schools have a high percentage of Non English Speaking Parents. The District chose to start sending text to voice messages, then move to text messages, starting with parents of students in the junior secondary years (8/9)

A review conducted by an MGM Consultant in May, 2008 showed that despite only having messageyou solutions for a part of the second semester:

A reduction in period absences is estimated at 20% for the time that messageyou was operational in one school.
A reduction in period absences is estimated at 43% for the time that messageyou was operational in the other school.
Both schools reported high staff and parent acceptance of the system
Data provided by messageyouWatchlists enabled more timely and focused staff follow up.
Both schools have expanded the program to include students in years 9 & 10 in the 2008/2009 school year (just starting) and are also encouraging parents to use the text communication format.

CONCLUSION

MGM Wireless remains committed to improving communications throughout school communities using the companys latest technology solutions and the ease of communications of the modern and ubiquitous mobile phone.

MGMs powerful text messaging technology is a fast and unobtrusive method of getting vital school information into the hands of parents and guardians, Mr Fortunatow said.