Welcome to SocialMediaSchools.com!
Hello and welcome! My name is Darren Alff and I am the creator of SocialMediaSchools.com. I’m also the man behind behind BicycleTouringPro.com, FilmAndTVCareer.com, and SilverMountainMarketing.com.
The reason I mention my other websites is because I think it’s important for you to know that I am an experienced Internet publisher who has worked for years to create and built up a number of successful websites and online businesses.
This is important to note because this site is going to be discussing subjects related to the Internet, social media, and Internet marketing. And yes, we’ll even be talking about business – because, believe it or not, schools are businesses!
While my other websites cover a diverse range of topics, this site is dedicated to the school systems and assisting school administrators, parents, teachers, staff, and (yes, even) students with the integration of Internet and social media technologies into the education system.
The idea for this website came about because I am currently working with a school district in Southern California, whom months ago, asked me to find a way to easily, inexpensively, and quickly connect the district administration with the parents, teachers, students, and community members in their local area.
Like many schools across the country, the district was looking for a way to communicate with its “tribe” and eliminate the cost associated with mailing physical newsletters to its parents and teachers.
At the beginning of my assignment with this particular district, I worked to integrate an email newsletter into the school district’s administration system. But quickly thereafter I realized that the school district’s email newsletter could not (and should not) be the only way for the district to communicate with it’s tribe. I realized that the email newsletter was just one piece of puzzle.
It was at this time that I sat down at my computer and wrote out a brief summary of my ideas on education and the Internet, technology, and social media in an manifesto I called “Should Your School Be Using Social Media?” The document was never meant to be seen by anyone but myself, but I’ve published it on this site nevertheless. You can read it here.
In that article, I talk about a number of different things, but the most important subject I discuss is the future of social media and Internet technologies in the classroom. The Internet is forever changing the way people communicate, share, and spread information… and as I mention in the conclusion of the forementioned manifesto, I wholeheartidly believe that the Internet could quickly become the greatest education tool ever created. In fact, I believe it’s already there! We’ve just failed to use the tool in approrpaite way because of the fears, dangers, and hard work associated with tackling this incredibly fast and ever-growing giant.
And that, my friends, is what this website is all about!
With SocialMediaSchools.com I hope to document how schools from around the world are using the Internet and social media to interact, educate and inspire their communities. In addition, I plan to create, discuss, and share ideas on how technology can be used to increase the power of education in our school systems – both now and in the future!
While this information comes as a result of the research I conducted while working for this particular Southern California school district, I’ve decided to post my findings (and ideas) online as a way of helping schools around the world learn why and how they should be implementing these new online technologies into the classroom.
So if you have an idea, want to share a story from your neck of the woods, or simply have a question about technology, the Internet, and social media in our school systems… this is the place to do it!
I thank you for joining me on this exciting and educational jounrey… and I hope you’ll stick around as we work to forever change the way we communicate, share and learn.
