DINSTAR Singapore - TechBytes

Introduction

Our client, a Singapore-based Tuition School, operates 12 tuition centres across the island. They cater to primary school students, offering classes in Chinese, Math, Science, and English. Each centre has 6 to 8 small classrooms, with an average of 10 students per class.

The central management office was responsible for creating the class schedule for all the centres, including tutor assignment, student allocation, class scheduling and rescheduling, class merging, class transfers, and replacements. However, they faced challenges in communicating schedule updates and changes to parents and tutors, leading to dissatisfaction and loss of students.

To resolve these issues, we designed and implemented a Class Scheduling System with SMS, WhatsApp, and Voice Reminders. The hardware used for this project was the 4G VoIP Gateway Dinstar UC2000-VE with 8 channels.

System Overview

Product used for this case study

DINSTAR UC2000-VE GSM/WCDMA/LTE VoIP Gateway

The system works as follows:

1. Admin staff create a class schedule for the tutors and students (and their parents). Schedules are created/updated on a monthly basis.

2. 24 hours before the class, tutors receive SMS/WhatsApp reminders. If a tutor is unable to attend, they can indicate so via a link in the SMS/WhatsApp, and the admin staff will re-assign another tutor.

3. 2 hours before the class, all parents receive reminder SMS/WhatsApp messages. If a parent decides not to send their child to the class, they can indicate so via a link in the SMS/WhatsApp. The tutor and admin staff are notified, and another class for the same subject is allocated for the child.

4. 2 hours before the class, tutors receive a final reminder SMS/WhatsApp message, which they can acknowledge via a link in the SMS/WhatsApp. If not acknowledged, the system triggers a voice call to remind them.

5. The system summarizes all reminders and actions by all parties and produces reports for the tuition school to improve their service. A monthly report for the whole school is also generated to report the quality level of all classes.

Hardware and Software Design Architecture

The system is built on a Windows Server, which processes messages sent and received by the VoIP Gateway. The Class Schedule System, hosted on the server, interacts with the admin staff, tutors, and parents. It also generates reports for the tuition school.

The hardware used for this project was the 4G VoIP Gateway Dinstar UC2000-VE with 8 channels. This gateway was responsible for sending and receiving SMS/WhatsApp messages.

Implementation Steps

1. Hardware Setup: Install and configure the Dinstar UC2000-VE 4G VoIP Gateway.

2. System Setup: Install and configure the Windows Server. Install the Class Schedule System on the server.

3. Integration: Integrate the VoIP Gateway with the Class Schedule System. Test the sending and receiving of SMS/WhatsApp messages.

4. Schedule Creation: Admin staff create the class schedule using the Class Schedule System.

5. Reminder Setup: Set up the system to send reminders to tutors and parents at the appropriate times.

6. Response Handling: Configure the system to handle responses from tutors and parents, such as inability to attend a class or non-attendance of a child.

7. Report Generation: Set up the system to generate daily and monthly reports.

8. Training: Train the admin staff, tutors, and parents on how to use the system.

9.Maintenance: Regularly maintain and update the system to ensure its smooth operation.

Conclusion

The implementation of the Class Scheduling System has significantly improved communication between the tuition centre, tutors, and parents. It has reduced misunderstandings and complaints, leading to increased satisfaction among parents and tutors. The Dinstar UC2000-VE 4G VoIP Gateway has proven to be an effective hardware solution for handling SMS/WhatsApp communications. The client is very happy with the result, and the system has proven to be a valuable tool in managing the tuition centres effectively.