While working at Digital Influence Group, we were approached by a major Johannesburg based bank named Shalamuka which funds an organization and university called Penreach. The Penreach foundation provides workshops for teachers from rural areas to learn proper teaching methods. The problem they needed solved was that these workshops were sometimes cancelled or moved and there was no way to mass communicate or broadcast a message to the teachers that the workshop was cancelled due to the lack of internet access in rural South Africa. This would cause dire effects on the Penreach teachers lives because the workshops are located in Johannesburg and it is a considerable expense for these low income teachers to get there (sometimes a month\'s worth of finances just to pay for the gas). So I was assigned to figure out a solution to facilitate communication between the Penreach teaching workshops and the teachers in the program without using any computer based platform. The solution I came up with was a text messaging and microblog platform that used generated numerical codes to broadcast text the members of Penreach if there was an event change. Furthermore, I upgraded the solution and platform (as detailed in the pdf) to include more community features and the power of the internet (through the microblog) to help the Penreach foundation achieve their mission of providing education to the poor in South Africa.

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Text Capture
Text Capture Keyword recognized (Familial Issues)
Auto-Respond
SMS Text to a number for Penreach From: Penreach
Subject Codes Available
SMS Text to: Penreach
SMS Biology SMS
Familial Issues
Algebra
Orphaned Children
Question is forwarded
to online microblog
An “asker” sends the message, “Subject Codes,” and subscribed experienced
to Penreach to nd out the proper codes. Penreach educators.
The asker nds the proper code and asks:
“Familial Issues-
I have a student who comes from an
abusive family in Johannesburg. It is
a ecting his school work and he
is noticeably depressed.
What am I supposed to do?”
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asker with amount SMS Text Received
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Question is forwarded .0,*"6&*0&,<"$-5-$&,9'8"$* “Familial Issues- I have a student who comes from anabusive family in Johannesburg. It is
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to online microblog. What am I supposed to do?”
People generally behave in an unreasonable way because their judgement is clouded
by emotion. When two people are interacting, one person’s emotion tends to feed the other’s
emotional response. (For example, think about how di cult it is to react to an........
The asker receives the text message generated on the microblog.
Question is posted on the online microblog’s front end and goes live on the internet. The asker nds it very helpful
A user chooses to answer the question. 1,000 people have voted but not the exact answer she is looking for.
this answer as appropriate (validity points).
A donation button is available at all times on the microblog.
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Text Capture
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to online microblog ? Messag
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and subscribed experienced Messag
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Penreach educators.
d
receive
The asker receives the text message from the Penreach member. She
compares it to the internet answer. Both are useful but the
Penreach member’s answer is more speci c.
All teachers subscribed to “Familial Issues” receives the question
and a generated code. The reason there is a code is to protect
the askers identiy and personal information.
Only one subscriber knows exactly what to do.
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SMS Text Answer Received
To: Penreach
Thank you for using our
Text Capture answering service. To
What is the population
of elephants in Africa? Non-Member receive your answer
please donate $1
to Penreach by texting..
SMS
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receive
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d
receive
Vodafone recognizes that The asker receives the answer from
these members are not part of the Penreach Penreach along with a thank-you for
initiative, and sends them the donation.
a message to obtain a donation. A non Penreach member
Common people have questions that they need to be answered must donate a small amount of money in order
for a variety of reasons such as school or work. These people to receive an answer via SMS Text.
are not Penreach subscribers nor do they work for Penreach.
The microblog, however is free of charge.
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Microblog
Facebook Application Microblog Push
A “Donate Now” button will be included in the application The microblog can push out questions and
as well as a link to the microblog. answers to a twitter pro le, which could help drive
This application will display Teach by Text's data and it can more users to the microblog and encourage people to donate.
be installed on individual Facebook pro les.
Installed on indiviual pro les, it Shalamuka and Penreach Events Page
expands our reach for donations. Another Twitter account can be created to act as yet another portal
for people to be driven into the program as well as keep people up to date
Facebook Fan/Like Page on everything that Shalamuka and Penreach are doing.
Fan pages that live on Facebook act as a hub for
content and another opportunity for donation Penreach Twitter Pro les
generation. Facebook users can come and discuss Penreach members can be encouraged to create their own twitter pro les since
issues concerning education and Shalamuka. Penreach Twitter posts can be created with SMS text. These members can act as advocates
members can act as advocates of the organization and provide an interesting story around the organization.
on the page. The page can have a “Donate ..
Now” button as well as hosting our Facebook
application, allowing users to install the application
in their pro les easily. Furthermore, the fan page can also drive users
to the microblog.
Facebook Causes
Facebook has an exisitng Facebook application that allows groups to be
created around a cause or a mission.Users who already possess the application
can add the Shalamuka/Penreach to their list of causes and activelysupport it.
For example, they can track their impact on the cause itself in categories such
as the number of people they recruited for the cause,
awareness generated around the cause, and funds raised for the cause. The
application has the abilitiy to accept donations as well.
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then download or view within the application.
assignments and projects. A teacher can monitor these chat rooms after school and participate if he or she chooses.
application or by SMS text.
actvity within the application.
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with other classrooms in other countries.
have access to the internet.
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