South Texas College was struggling to keep up with student/teacher communication. They were already using Blackboard to provide online access to a great deal of the course material and information students needed, but there were barriers in place that made it difficult for students and teachers to communicate seamlessly, especially outside of class hours.
Then, they started using Pronto.
“Pronto has been a game changer,” notes Ron F. Schermerhorn III, a percussion teacher at South Texas College. “It has just exponentially increased the awesomeness of student/professor communication.”
How South Texas College Uses Pronto
Pronto has become a critical part of student/faculty interactions at South Texas College–and in fact, it has become a critical part of faculty interactions, too. Adrian Gonzalez, a biology instructor, notes that there is a biology department group that all members of the faculty are part of. They’re constantly saying things like, “Send it to Pronto,” or, “Send it to your students on Pronto.”
There’s a good reason for that appreciation. “It has become one of the primary ways we communicate with one another because it is user-friendly and intuitive,” shares Adrian.
There are practical ways that faculty members at South Texas College choose to use Pronto every day.
Immediate Communication and Problem-Solving
One student, Adrian noted, messaged her to let her know that he was struggling with a specific problem. He couldn’t figure out how to get past it by himself. A simple message or email wouldn’t have been enough to communicate and understand the challenges that he was facing. With Pronto, however, Adrian was able to connect immediately with the student through video chat, share his screen, see the problem he was having, and work him through the process in real-time. Not only did this give him a better understanding of the problem and the process in general, but it also provided him with the confidence he needed to complete his assignment–and to ask more questions in the future.
Breaking the Ice with Ease
Pronto, the faculty shares, makes it easy to break the ice with students. They can send out a GIF or short video in a matter of moments. It’s the perfect way to start the morning, to connect with students before class, or to remind them of what they need to do and what they need to turn in before class or before they move forward with their next activities.
Calming Students Through Emergencies and Disasters
After instituting Pronto across the organization, South Texas College went through hurricanes and winter storms. For some students, this might have been the first time they had been through such disasters. For others, uncertainty prevailed: how should they handle their usual coursework during the disaster? What should they expect? Many students no longer had power during those natural disasters, but they still had their phones–and that meant they could communicate with their instructors easily and effectively. Some students even messaged their professors during the disasters, which allowed professors to comfort and calm their students and help them through those moments.
Pronto Makes Communication More Accessible
Thanks to Pronto, professors are more easily accessible. Over and over again, the professors at South Texas College noted, “Pronto makes us look good.” It’s not, they add, that they are any more devoted than the average college professor. Like their colleagues in schools across the nation, they are there for their students. What Pronto accomplishes, simply put, is making them accessible. It’s easier and faster than email. It provides immediate notifications, which means that professors can provide immediate responses. Students can contact their professors as easily as they can message their friends, in an environment where many of the natural barriers to communication have been removed.
It makes the professors feel more human to their students–and for the students, that matters.
Students Feel More Comfortable Sharing
As they work through the Pronto platform, students feel more comfortable with communication in general. They feel more comfortable asking questions as they discover that others have the same questions and are facing the same challenges. They’re also more likely to share more on Pronto than they do in their emails. They’ll send messages sharing their worries and concerns, often including the details that can help their professors make more informed decisions about how to handle potential challenges or address student needs.
At South Texas College, Pronto was the answer to many of the challenges students and teachers faced in managing overall communication. It could be the answer to communication challenges at your university, too. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of Pronto and how it could facilitate communication within your environment.
