Student Opinions on Pronto

Stanford OHS has recently announced a new online platform for students to receive school-wide announcements, communicate with students about different school assignments, and socialize with friends outside the classroom. This platform, called Pronto, was introduced at the start of the 2023-2024 school year as an alternative to Skype, which was the widely used platform before. In general, Pronto’s introduction has been received well by students as most students are now using Pronto to communicate with others. However, many students do see room for improvement for Pronto as it becomes a more integrated part of Stanford OHS. 

Based on a survey of 30 OHS students with a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions, over 70% of students use Pronto over 40% of the time to connect with others across the school, but there are mixed emotions as to how students feel about Pronto at this current stage. Some thoroughly enjoy using Pronto over other platforms as it provides a convenient and efficient way of communicating and staying notified about school-related topics. However, 19 out of the 30 surveyed have neutral to negative thoughts about Pronto, and feel as though there are aspects of the network that can work in a way to better aid the students. 

One of the more common concerns expressed through the survey was the technical difficulties students faced with the platform. Some noted that there is a strong amount of lag which makes it difficult to hold conversations fluidly, as some have waited up to ten seconds for a message to send. 

Another area of discussion that many students from the survey noted was the design and structure of Pronto, and there were mixed opinions on the visual appeal of the app. As of now, Pronto has a more structured and educational design, including easy access from Canvas, monitored discussions, and groups organized under folders inside the app. Some students appreciate this, as there is more convenience in accessing conversations and a safer environment for communication. However, nearly 50% of the surveyed students expressed that the design of Pronto takes away from the ability to be in an environment where they feel encouraged to socialize. One student wrote, “There are no customization options. It's all just black and boring; you don't have statuses, custom emojis, or custom colors. No pronouns.” Many shared similar concerns about the lack of possibilites to personalize the app, such as a lack of ways to react to messages and to organize their groups how they see fit. The students surveyed hope to see a change in the personalization and comfort of the app to make socialization more approachable in Pronto.

While students have noted there are benefits to how Pronto stands now, others have mixed opinions on whether it helps encourage socialization or has a more constricting feel. Pronto is still a new app for Stanford OHS, so its integration is a work in progress. But hopefully, it will soon make for a great way for students to communicate both academically and socially.