Which Online Tools Should Schools Be Using?
The Internet has brought a wave of new tools for schools and education systems alike to use as they communicate, educate and inspire their communities. In fact, there are so many new tools now, it’s a bit overwhelming. There’s Twitter and Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Plurk and more. There’s email newsletters, RSS feeds, websites and blogs. And that’s not to mention StumbleUpon, Digg or Squidoo. The list goes on, but you get the point. There are a lot of free online tools at your disposal. The question now is, which ones should you be using?
Here’s my answer: ALL OF THEM!
Well, actually, as many as you can possibly manage. Trying to use them all at this point would be a bit unrealistic. But as a school, you should be attempting to communicate with your parents, teachers, students and community members in the way(s) they to be communicated with. It is your job to give your community the information they want… when, where and how they want it. That’s what the new Internet is all about! It’s about reaching people when, where and how they want to be reached.
But you might be thinking to yourself, “Wouldn’t it be simpler if we just stuck with the communication methods of the past?”
Yes, that would be easier. But it wouldn’t work. Here’s why:
A couple days ago I was discussing this issue with a woman from a local school district. When I started talking about these new online tools she insisted that it would be easier to just have one or two communication methods. In this case, she felt snail mail and phone calls were the perfect solution.
But what this woman doesn’t understand is that some people don’t like getting phone calls and hate checking their mail. And if you can’t reach them in one of these two ways… how exactly then, do you plan on reaching them?
Take me for example. I have a telephone, but I never answer it. I don’t list my telephone number on my website and I don’t take calls from anyone unless they have an appointment. I do this because I hate getting phone calls. It’s distracting and it takes me away from whatever work I happen to be doing. So I choose not to use my phone.
Likewise, I don’t receive mail. Well, I do, but I don’t actually look at it myself. I have someone else do that for me. If there’s something important in there, it will eventually work it’s way to my inbox and I’ll handle it. But a note from my local school district isn’t going to be labeled as important, so it’s likely to end up in the dumpster.
So you see, if this woman were in charge of communication at her school she wouldn’t be reaching me at all. Her calls would go unanswered and her mail would end up in the trash. And in the end, her failed attempts to reach me (and other parents, teachers and community members in the area) would cost the school huge amounts of money.
So what does this mean for you?
It means that you need to use these new online tools to get your message out in as many different ways as possible… so you can reach as many people as possible.
People have a choice as to what information they receive now… and they can choose to get your information or to ignore it.
Some people will choose to get your email newsletters. Others will follow your RSS feeds. Some will randomly check your website. Others will watch your Ustream shows or catch you on the local television. Some will follow you on Twitter. Others will friend you on Facebook. And some might even follow you in several of the aforementioned ways.
No longer can you cram your school’s information down people’s throats via phone calls and paper flyers sent home with students.
Instead, it’s now your job to simply get the information out there in as many ways as possible. If you are saying something that people care about, then they’ll choose to follow you, subscribe to your email newsletter, sign up for your RSS feed, or friend you on Facebook. But if you’re spitting out information that isn’t important (or relevant) to their lives, then they’ll pass on your info and go on with their lives.
In the end, they have the choice as to whether or not they want to get your information. They can choose when to follow you, where to follow you, and how to follow you. And they ultimately have the choice of unfollowing you at any time. The choice is entirely theirs!
So you see, it’s your responsibility to simply get the information out there. Get the information out there in as many ways as possible… and then let the people decide if the information you’re putting out is relevant to them and their lives.
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