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Use of mobile application as a means of communication of academic activities between parents and teachers

Abstract:

A close collaboration between parents and teachers is a very important pillar to improve the academic performance of students. This research presents a study of how mobile applications can improve communication among members of an educational institution, in contrast to solutions that only offer access through web browsers. We conducted a case study at Cristo Rey Educational Unit in Portoviejo, Ecuador, where we developed a mobile application so that, on the one hand, students' representatives receive in real-time: communications, academic and behavioral information of their students, and, on the other hand, students can check: homework, class schedules, communications, and grades. In this way, users will always be aware of the academic issues of the institution. We implemented the mobile application in May 2015. As of June 2018, 2,065 devices had installed the application; where the communication among the community of the educational unit, i.e., parents, teachers, and students, improved; also, response times of notifications were timelier, due to users got them on their smartphones in real-time. In addition, the massive use of the application helped students to improve the average score, given by the National Institute for Educational Evaluation, obtaining 8.79 in 2017, compared to 8.57 in the earlier period.