23/11/2020
Video calls launched in Edulink One’s Parents’ Evening function
Author - Abigail Mosley
Schools using Edulink One can now use video conferencing to deliver face to face online parents’ evenings.
Overnet Data has launched an integrated video conferencing solution for Edulink One’s parents’ evenings.
It’s very simple to use: once started, you don’t have to touch a button until the event is finished.
Appointments start and switch automatically, and warnings let you know the call is ending soon and to wind up your discussion. Contact telephone numbers are available in Edulink One if needed.
Edulink One integrates with Twilio (a world-leading cloud communications platform) to provide the video calls on a pay as you go basis. Just like SMS messages in Edulink One, you are only charged for what you use.
Schools sign up for a Twilio account and pay and any costs directly to them for the use of their servers. What’s more, Twilio currently offers 25GB of server usage per month free of charge to registered users.
UPDATE September 2021 – Currently Twilio is now free for up to 250 teachers at a time, meaning the service is now effectively free.
There’s no additional cost for the parents’ evening function – it’s included in Edulink One software licence price.
So how much will the video calls cost?
This all depends on server usage, and is influenced by how many appointments you have, the length of them, the devices used and the type of connection available.
As a guide, we ran a test parents’ evening with a school. The event involved:
- 17 teachers
- the parents of 64 learners (who had a limit of 3 bookings)
- duration of 3 hours
- In total: 182 appointments lasting 10mins each
This used 37.8GB on Twilio’s TURN server, and would have cost around £11.37 without the 25GB free usage (which you get every month). Twilio charges $0.40 per gigabyte for additional usage of their TURN server.
So whilst we can’t give you an accurate price for each event, we think Edulink One’s integration with Twilio is a cost effective option compared to other dedicated solutions. You only pay for what you use.
However, if you decide that video calling isn’t right for your school, you just turn the functionality off – there are no financial penalties.
Video conferencing is available to current Edulink One customers from today and to new customers on sign-up to Edulink One.
It’s such an easy feature to use, especially as it plugs straight into the Edulink One Parents’ Evening system that is already established in our school. It means we don’t have to do any additional setup at all.
Parents and Staff just log into Edulink and start their appointments, the system does everything else. It’s going to help stop that awkwardness of parents trying to talk for longer than their appointments or them trying to sneak in when staff appear to be free.
I think we’re going to be sticking with this past lockdown too. It makes it far easier for parents if they have work or childcare commitments.
Learn about Edulink One’s parents evening function.
We already use Edulink One – how do we set up video conferencing for parents’ evenings?
Not a customer yet? Sign up for a 30 day free trial today!
About Overnet Data
Overnet Data are UK based education software developers who understand the needs of a busy school. We’re here to support schools by using new ideas and innovative technologies that are designed to make managing a school easier.
About Edulink One
Edulink One brings together the things you need to manage daily school life. It’s a complete engagement and management solution that supports parents, staff and students in and out of the classroom.
We reduce workload, cost, and complexity of systems to help you focus on what’s important: engaging with and supporting your students.
