> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.edustream.ng/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Edustream Broadcast Hub: School-Wide Communication

> Send targeted announcements, notices, and event reminders to students, parents, and staff — with full audit logs and real-time push alerts.

Broadcast Hub is Edustream's multi-channel communication centre, available on the **Core plan and above**. It lets you reach any segment of your school community — from every parent on the roster to a single guardian — through a single, auditable interface. Every message you send is permanently logged so you always have a clear record of what was communicated, to whom, and when.

## Creating a Broadcast

Composing and sending a broadcast takes less than a minute. Open the **Communication** module from the left navigation bar, then select **Broadcast Hub**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a new broadcast">
    Click the **New Broadcast** button in the top-right corner of the Broadcast Hub dashboard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a broadcast type">
    Select one of the three content types:

    * **Announcement** — general information for your school community
    * **Important Notice** — high-priority messages displayed prominently in the portal
    * **Event Reminder** — time-sensitive alerts tied to an upcoming date

    The type you choose controls how the message is displayed to recipients in their portal and notification feed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write your message">
    Enter a clear **Subject** line (shown as the notification headline) and compose the full message body in the text editor. The editor supports basic formatting — bold, italic, bullet lists, and hyperlinks.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select your audience">
    Use the **Recipients** panel to target the right people. See [Targeting Audiences](#targeting-audiences) below for the full breakdown of available options.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review and send">
    Click **Preview** to see exactly how the broadcast will appear to recipients, then click **Send Broadcast**. The system dispatches the message immediately and logs it in the audit trail.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Draft your broadcast before selecting recipients — it keeps the workflow clean and reduces the chance of an accidental send before your message is ready.
</Tip>

***

## Targeting Audiences

Broadcast Hub gives you precise control over who receives each message. In the **Recipients** panel, choose from four targeting modes:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Everyone" icon="users">
    Send to all students, parents/guardians, and staff registered in your Edustream account. Use this for school-wide announcements such as holiday notices or emergency closures.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Specific Class" icon="chalkboard">
    Select one or more classes from the dropdown. The broadcast reaches the guardians and enrolled students of every student in those classes — ideal for class-level event reminders or teacher messages.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Staff Segment" icon="id-badge">
    Target a staff group such as Teaching Staff, Administrative Staff, or a custom department you have configured. Only staff members in the selected segment receive the message.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Individual Guardian" icon="user">
    Search by student name or parent name to send a private broadcast to a specific guardian. This is useful for one-on-one communications that still need to live in the official communication log.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  Targeting by class sends the broadcast to the guardians of all students currently enrolled in that class. Students who have been withdrawn or transferred are excluded automatically.
</Note>

***

## Viewing Sent Broadcasts and Audit Logs

Every broadcast is permanently stored in Broadcast Hub. You can review the full history at any time to confirm delivery, audit content, or resolve disputes.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Sent Broadcasts log">
    In Broadcast Hub, click the **Sent** tab. All broadcasts are listed in reverse-chronological order, with the subject, sender name, send date, and audience displayed in the table.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open a broadcast record">
    Click any row to open the full broadcast record. The detail view shows:

    * **Sender name** and staff role
    * **Timestamp** (date and time the broadcast was dispatched)
    * **Full message content** exactly as delivered
    * **Recipient list** — the audience segment and, for individual sends, the specific guardian name
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export the log (optional)">
    Click **Export CSV** in the top-right of the Sent tab to download the complete broadcast history for record-keeping or external reporting.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Broadcast records cannot be edited or deleted after sending. This ensures your communication history remains an accurate, tamper-proof audit trail.
</Info>

***

## Push Notifications and App Badges

When you send a broadcast, Edustream automatically triggers real-time alerts for recipients who have active sessions or have installed the Edustream app.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Browser & Desktop Push">
    Active users browsing the Edustream web portal receive a **browser push notification** the moment a broadcast is sent. The notification displays the subject line and the first line of the message body. Clicking the notification opens the full broadcast in the portal.

    Desktop push notifications work on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari (macOS 13+). Users must grant notification permission when first prompted by their browser.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Mobile App Badges">
    On mobile and desktop apps, unread broadcasts increment the **app icon badge count** — the small number that appears on the app icon in the home screen or taskbar. Badge counts are supported on:

    | Platform | Badge Support       |
    | -------- | ------------------- |
    | iOS      | ✅ Home screen icon  |
    | Android  | ✅ App launcher icon |
    | macOS    | ✅ Dock icon         |
    | Windows  | ✅ Taskbar icon      |

    The badge count resets to zero once the user opens Broadcast Hub and reads the pending messages.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="SMS & Email Delivery">
    SMS and email delivery are available as additional delivery channels depending on your plan. When enabled, each broadcast is simultaneously sent as an SMS and/or email to the phone numbers and email addresses recorded in each recipient's guardian profile.

    <Warning>
      SMS and email delivery depend on valid, up-to-date contact information in each guardian's profile. If a parent is missing a phone number or email address, they will not receive those channel alerts — even if the in-app push is delivered. Regularly audit guardian contact details to ensure full reach.
    </Warning>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Best Practices

* **Use Important Notice sparingly.** Reserve it for genuinely urgent messages — overuse trains your audience to ignore the urgency cue.
* **Keep subjects specific.** "Term 2 Parent-Teacher Meeting — Friday 14 June" performs better than "Meeting Reminder".
* **Verify contact details first.** Before a major broadcast, run a quick audit of guardian phone numbers and email addresses in the Students module.
* **Check the audit log after high-stakes sends.** Confirm the correct audience was captured before following up through other channels.