Release Notes
This page serves to show changes which have been made to the Schoolzine Platform, or changes that will be made to the Schoolzine Platform. This is a living page and will be updated after each release.
Items are listed in one or more of the following categories: Bug Fix, Quality of Life Improvement, Deprecation, New Feature.
A brief description for each of these categories can be seen below.
Bug Fix
This category includes any tickets that address and resolve software defects or issues. Bugs are problems or malfunctions in the software that prevent it from functioning as intended. Bug fixes involve identifying the cause of the issue and implementing a solution to eliminate or mitigate the problem. Bug fixes help improve the stability, reliability, and overall performance of the software.
Deprecation
Deprecation refers to the process of phasing out or discontinuing certain features, functionalities, or components of the software. When a feature or functionality is deprecated, it means that it is no longer recommended for use and may be removed in future versions. Deprecation is typically accompanied by alternative solutions or recommended replacements to ensure a smooth transition for users.
Quality of Life Improvement
This category encompasses enhancements made to improve the user experience, convenience, or usability of the software. Quality of life improvements often address minor issues or inconveniences that may not be classified as bugs but still have an impact on user satisfaction. These changes aim to streamline workflows, simplify tasks, enhance accessibility, or add user-requested features that enhance the overall user experience.
New Feature
This category encompasses the introduction of significant enhancements, functionalities, or capabilities that were not previously available in the software. New features are additions that expand the software’s capabilities, introduce novel functionalities, or provide innovative solutions to meet user needs. These additions can be driven by user feedback, market trends, or the desire to stay competitive in the industry.
If you have any questions pertaining to this page, please contact the Support Team.
Current and Future Releases
Change
Control Center Help Chat Widget Changed
Scope of Change
Control Center
Objective
To make chat one-click when asking for help and to add back end sophistication to automatically bring up your account.
Release Date
25/10/2024
Change Description
Users will see an orange chat window to talk to our staff immediately rather than finding the live chat button in the side panel. The chat is more sophisticated and lets us better support users.
Change
Login screen changes
Scope of Change
Login Screen Only
Objective
To make Single Sign-On (SSO) easier for customers we have changed the UX and domain auto-detection logic
Release Date
09/09/2024
Change Description
Users will be presented with a separate screen to enter their password after entering their email. Previously a user would enter their email and password on the same screen. For users with SSO enabled, they will not have to enter a password and will login via their organisations SSO.
Change
Authentication Server Improvements
Scope of Change
New Feature
Objective
Upgrade our Authentication to enforce stricter password rules and allow us to develop MFA and other features down the track
Release Date
29/06/2024
Change Description
Users should login via global2.schoolzineplus.com instead of global.schoolzineplus.com as we have shifted our authentication infrastructure. Users must now set a 14 character password including symbols, numbers and a capital letter to help protect their accounts against the global cyber threat.
Change
Removed protocol relative links
Scope of Change
Bug Fix
Objective
Some template elements referenced <a href="// which is protocol agnostic, we have enforced the https protocol
Release Date
21/06/2024
Change Description
This bug was causing issues with bug scanners as well as printing newsletters
Change
School TV Integration
Scope of Change
New Feature
Objective
Make it easier for School TV customers to add School TV content to their newsletter through a handy library feature
Release Date
June 09
Change Description
From the eNewsletter builder, users will be able to add SchoolTV videos and curated wellbeing content into the newsletter
Change
eNewsletter Text to Speech
Scope of Change
Quality of Life Improvement (Accessibility)
Objective
Make the product more inclusive by using native text to speech functionality
Release Date
TBC
Change Description
eNewsletters will have a button which allows users to have the newsletter "read allowed" to them. This will use modern AI voices. The aim is that people with dyslexia, reading difficulties can read it, or newsletter can be listened to while driving or not at the computer
Change
eNewsletter Improvements
Scope of Change
Quality of Life Improvement
Objective
Improve the usability and functionality of the eNewsletter product.
Release Date
TBC
Change Description
eNewsletters are getting a styling overhaul, with improvements across the board (both online and print).
To avoid overwriting each other’s work, we’ll be implementing a warning to let you know when someone else has the page open.Some minor functionality additions are also scheduled to make an appearance.
Past Releases
- Past Releases
May 2024
- Accessibility changes to the backend of the system (CRM) including to improve WCAG compliance:
- Keyboard activated tooltips for users with dexterity issues whom cannot use a mouse
- Navigation skip links for those operating via keyboard
- Other general accessibility improvements
February 2024
- Added Stripe integration for organisations who use the members dashboard so that they can take payments online via credit card
November 2023
- Security Enhancements to the platform as a backend fix has allowed us to address outcomes of security penetration tests and scans
September 2023
- The Schoolzine logo in the footer space of some websites was not loading correctly, we’ve resolved this issue.
- Calendar events with restricted tags were incorrectly showing on the new Accessible/List view.
August 2023
- A new Accessible/List view has been released for the Schoolzine Calendar. This view is layed out in a manner that is much more easily navigated by screen-readers and those with visual/cognitive impairments. Users can define their preferred view in the Calendar Settings, or toggle between the views when viewing the calendar.
- The iFrame embed code for the Schoolzine Calendar no longer displays the acount/newsletter header at the top of the calendar.
- The Schoolzine logo has been added to a number of HOP/SKIP website footers
- A new button was added to the Control Centre for those on a legacy subscription (wherein Schoolzine builds the newsletter for them), to allow for easier content submission.
July 2023
- Styling improvements have been made for tables within the eNewsletter product.
- The Publish Date field of eNewsletters was displaying incorrectly in some views, this has been remedied.
- The anchor arrows that appear in the Article Index of older newsletter versions have made a return to the eNewsletter product.
- The Calendar Sync logic has been updated to accomodate the formatting of SmartSheet and SENTRAL Calendars.
- We’ve officially released our new ‘Text Messaging’ product! This new product is available for clients in Australia only (for now). Enable the product from the side-menu in your Control Center, or check out the Knowledge Base for more information.
- Microsoft Single Sign On became inaccessible, via the login page. We’ve resolved the matter and re-implemented this button to the login page.
- The ‘Print Newsletter’ button used on some eNewsletter Builder Templates wasn’t correctly generating a PDF File, this issue has now been resolved.
- Some fine-tuning has been completed before the release of the new ‘Text Messaging’ product.
- The Outlook Web App was not displaying images within emails sent from the Schoolzine platform. We’ve reconciled our differences and images are once again visible.
June 2023
- We’ve fixed an issue where the ‘PDF Flyer’ function (for eNewsletters) was causing crashes for some iPhone users, when viewed in Safari.
- We have addressed an issue where the “/latest” dynamic newsletter link did not correctly consider the “Publish Date” of Content Builder Newsletters. This fix ensures that the link now accurately reflects the most recent content based on the newsletter’s publishing date.
- The groundwork for the new ‘Text Messaging’ product has been laid and we’re fine-tuning before release.
May 2023
- We have included Privacy and Cookie policies at the bottom of newsletters, surveys, and web forms for all users. This addition ensures compliance with privacy regulations and provides users with easy access to the necessary policies while interacting with these pages.
- In our latest release, we have resolved an issue related to the dynamic link within the tile on Older Websites that leads to the account’s newsletter archive page. Previously, this link was not accurately considering the Publication of the newsletters. We have now fixed this issue to ensure proper accounting for the Publication.
April 2023
- This month saw the release of the next major iteration of SZapp (the Schoolzine mobile application). This version has been re-built from the ground up to ensure the latest security, privacy and accessibility standards are met. The migration to a new language means support for greater fuctionality, and that future updates can be completed much quicker.
- Feedback from the SZapp release was received and addressed, including login difficulties for some users and regional password resets.
- An additional three ‘HOP’ Website templates were produced and are now available for purchase, increasing the range of offerings within the Website package and the Website Upgrade package.
March 2023
- March was the month of Accessibility Improvements. This month saw signifcant improvements to our existing Website Templates including Aria Label improvements, minimum and maximum font-size refinements, standardization of Focus Indicators for the visually impaired, improved ordering for tabbing through page conent and a new tickbox so you can easily add the Page Name as a Heading1 to any webpage.
February 2023
- Only minor bug fixes this month, stay tuned for more!
January 2023
- We’re settling in to the New Year and lining up our projects for commencement.
- Decommissioning of old/unused infrastructure to improve security and load times.
December 2022
- The ‘Tag Cloud’ functionality for streams was always fond of the first tag in the list. Regardless of what tag was clicked, the first tag was already selected. This has been corrected.
November 2022
- Fixes this month were small and/or unnoticable to users, stay tuned for more!
October 2022
- We’ve worked closely with SiMON to establish a new API. This API allows users of both SiMON and Schoolzine to seemlessly manage their Schoolzine Control Center.
July 2022
- Those users who had Vimeo videos embedded videos in their Newsletters noted that the link for the video was being incorrectly shortened. A change to the Vimeo URL has now been accomodated.
June 2022
- You might not have noticed any visual changes this month, but a lot of work has been completed behind the scenes. All Schoolzine products are now running behind CloudFlare. This means products are now faster, more private and more secure!
May 2022
- Session Keeper appointments temporarily lock themselves when a user is making a booking. These temporary locks were not expiring, leaving the appointment locked. Unlocking has now been resolved.
- The ‘Recipients’ tab on the Manage SZapp page wasn’t showing all groups in the account, if the account had over 1,000 active groups.
- Reminder emails for Sesison Keeper appointments were not being sent at their required times. Reminders are now back on track.
- External Calendar Syncs weren’t automatically syncing as intended. The daily sync has now been resolved.