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Elementary principal designs smart phone app [Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach :: ]
[July 06, 2014]

Elementary principal designs smart phone app [Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach :: ]


(Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 06--MARY ESTHER -- Students at Mary Esther Elementary School will be greeted by something a little different than a bell when it's time to move from one school activity to another.



Beginning in August, the students will likely hear a dog barking or a trumpet-sounding to signal lunch, PE or the end of reading time thanks to a scheduling app just released by their principal.

"The whole point of the different sounds is the kids know what they're going to be doing," said Principal Gary Massey. "(Teachers) never have to worry about being late ever again." Massey created the Teacher Schedule Remainder (TSR) over a two year period after recognizing an opportunity to explore his passions for technology and education.


"If you're late to lunch for a minute, it throws the whole day off," Massey said as he pointed to a lunch schedule for his school. Classes of students arrive on it three minutes apart because that's about how long it takes to get students through the line.

With the app, which he provided to his staff, teachers can build a daily schedule with alarms that will get them from one part of the school day to another without constantly checking the clock.

The alarm will sound for 10 seconds before turning off and teachers have 11 different noises to choose between. In the future, he hopes to connect it to iTunes so teachers can match the alarms to songs about the activities they'll be doing next.

The app was available in both the Apple store and on Google Play at the end of June. On the first day, 11 people had purchased the app, but Massey was hopeful it would gain popularity once the school year begins.

Want to get it? The $0.99 app is available in the Apple store and Google Play (it's the 86th on the list).

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.

___ (c)2014 the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) Visit the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) at www.nwfdailynews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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