With the start of the new school year next week, many parents are concerned about their child’s security.
Although the latest regulations presented by the Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP) – Ministry of Public Education, does not prohibit smartphones in the classroom, some parents prefer not to burden their children with this responsibility due to security issues.
Faced with this situation, Claro, in conjunction with Alcatel and Toch Mobile have come together offering parents a technological alternative that allows parents to maintain communications with their children without using a smartphone.
The solution is a special watch for minors that receives and makes calls and messages, and also includes a special security system.
Unlike a cell phone, the device can only communicate with ten preestablished contacts, which are determined by an administrator who can monitor communications from a special app.
Both the administrator and the trusted contacts must install the TCL Move app to communicate directly with the user.
Although the watch works with a cellular line, from the device the child can only call and receive contact numbers chosen by the person in charge.
“It is a cell phone inside a watch, it has two buttons and from there the user can establish communication without risking receiving calls from strangers or accessing inappropriate content, it is an option for the little ones to keep in touch” explained Carolina Sanchez, Claro spokesperson.
In addition, the watch incorporates a geolocation system (GPS) so that trusted numbers know from the application where the child is located.
The parents can establish in the app security zones that include the school, the house of a family member or areas visited by the child, and in case the child leaves the perimeter that in the application was determined as safe, the administrator will receive the alert that the child is not in the point.
From the same application the person in charge can also activate the SOS button and in case of being in danger, the child can press it and automatically the watch makes the call to the security contacts until a response is obtained.
The 2018 public school year in Costa Rica commences on Tuesday, February 8 and ends December 13, with two major breaks in the school calendar: Semana Santa (March 15 to April 1) and mid-year vacations (July 2 to July 13).