Jott may be the next thing in mobile tech for school kids. It is rapidly gaining publicity and there is a fair bit of noise about it in the tech media.
Jott, a messaging app that works without a data plan or WiFi connection, has caught on among junior high and high school students, according to co-founder Jared Allgood. He says the app more than doubled to half a million active users in March, up from 150,000 active users previous.
Jott can send messages from one device to another without any cell service as long as those texting are within close enough proximity to each other.It does this by using something called a mesh network that operates on Bluetooth low energy or using a router that can reach within 100 feet of each user. It’s the same way FireChat, a group messaging app, does this, but Jott can also message individuals within your network.
It is taking off in schools where kids have limited data plans. In our situation where all students have wifi access on campus it might not be as applicable, but maybe it could be useful as a polling tool in lectures? I’ll have to have a play.