Design 1 - Teacher-Parent Mailbox
This solution would physically store information. The mailbox would be placed at the entrance of the school so that both Busy Brenda and Tammy Teacher would have access to it.
Brenda, could express her concerns by writing a note and putting it into Tammy’s slot. Tammy, could reply but writing another note and leaving it in Brenda’s slot. By writing daily notes, Teacher Tammy could update Brenda of Sarah’s progress, share educational resources, and tell her about upcoming important assignments.
This non-computer interface is very simple and extremely efficient. There are two main operations; leaving a note in someone’s mailbox or opening your own mailbox with your key and checking if you have any message. It doesn’t require any schedule commitment; Busy Brenda could pass by the school any time she is free and deliver or collect messages.
Design 2 – Teacher-Parent Voicemail
This design has two parts: a web interface and a phone interface. Busy Brenda could schedule a conversation with Teacher Tammy by either logging into the web interface, and writing the message, or by calling Teacher Tammy’s phone number and leave a voice mail. The voice mail would be translated into text (by some program like Google Voice), and Teacher Tammy would then hear the voicemail or read it in her web interface.
Teacher Tammy would use the web interface to share educational resources with Busy Brenda or keep her updated about Sarah’s homework and progress. After Teacher Tammy would type or record a new message, Busy Brenda would get a phone call by the program that would reproduce or read her the message. She would also be able to check the messages in the web interface, if she has Internet connection.
The phone interface would be the normal phone system for calling and leaving voicemails. The web interface would look like the one in the picture. Once Teacher Tammy would log in, she would be able to see a history of the phone calls or messages she has gotten. She would have the options of replying, or deleting each message.