Moving From Principal Epistles to Blogs and Podcasts

Amanda DeCardy and Andrew TorrisShanghai American School

Formal Communications

• HELP!• Tech Support!• CAREFUL Roll Out with

your Community!

Principal Epistles

The Dawn of DTP

DTP= Desktop Publishing or Death to Paper (Budget)

The ONSLAUGHT of Web-based Mass Communications

Tools

Expectation of Mass Publishing!

One Month= 18- A3 pages

X2000 Families!

Cha-Ching!

Audience - Not Community

www.saschina.org

Community - NOT Audience

One Stop Shopping!

http://teachers.saschina.org/mspudong

Wh

y Sh

ould S

chool

Leaders

Blog?

Why?- Sharing Events

• Upcoming events• Awards• Classroom

Highlights• Reminders• Lunch Menus• Co-Curricular• Deadlines

..... anything newsletter-like!

Why?- Progress Monitoring

•New Facilities•New Curricula•New Staff•Initiatives

..... keep the community informed!

Why?- Status Alert•Emergencies•Short-Term Problems•Event Cancellations

Build community

habits to seek information!

Why?- Marketing•Cheaper•Faster•Current•Create a buzz...

Primary Communicator of School Info!

The Kids!

Why?- Public Relations

Demands of our Clients!

Why?- Customer Relations

WEB-BASEDFACE of your SCHOOL

Why?- Branding

Customer Evangelists

Why?

Give ‘em something positive to talk about!

Thought Leadership

Why?Give ‘em something

positive to THINK about too!

Think out loud!

RSS FEEDS! The Power of Free Subscriptions!

Life is tooShort tohaveUGLY Publications

Good DesignIs as easy as…Learning the Principles

They’re simpler than you might think

Recognize when you’re not using them. Put into words- name the problem

Apply the Principles. You’ll Be Amazed

Design

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

not just function but also…

Story Telling...

not just argument but also…

not just focus but also…

…symphony

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

Empathy

http://static.flickr.com/51/106509125_d686615fff.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72298969@N00/143880776

http://static.flickr.com/2279/2341519122_56f2452123.jpg http://static.flickr.com/3040/2833098434_a3b3b30dae.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/3279/2646787328_b2486d9da4.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/67/199736037_d891a6d820.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/44/143880776_0c3bf12a14.jpg

not just logic but also…

…PLAY

Frequent

Action Oriented

Short

Targeted

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

10-20-30 Rule

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

10

Slides or

Posts Per

Month

20MINUTES!orlines!

Bigger is better!10

24

32

48

6472

288 96

<--Minimumheadline

14 <-- Minimum text body size!

CONTRAST

Avoid merely similar elementsMake elements NOT the same VERY DIFFERENT

Repetition

Repeat Visual Elements (lines, shapes, colors, textures, special relationships, etc.)

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

Alignment

Alignment

All items on a screen should have visual

connection with another.

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

•Items related to each other should be grouped close together.

•Items in proximity become one item

•This helps organize information

•Reduces Clutter

Proximity

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

Note:Non-Generic titles will keep your readership focused and

coming back for more!

slide photo courtesy of Ian Jukes (www.ianjukes.com

Resources Needed!

Flickr Stormhttp://www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm/

Podcast!Combo of the words "iPod" and "broadcast"

The Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which the first podcasting scripts were developed.

Podcast!

"Personal On Demand broadCASTING"

Resources Needed!

Expand your audience

Spread your positive message!

What’s a Twitter??

Technology: Learning TogetherTerms of Confusion...

WIKI

What is it really?

What can it do?

What can it NOT do?

What is all the fuss??

A wiki is a Website that allows users to collaboratively add and edit content posted online. We set up a wikispaces account to write the initial drafts of the technology plan.

Technology: Learning TogetherWIKI

The name comes from the Hawaiian word for "quick," and the term is generally attributed to Ward Cunningham, who, in 1995 set out to create "the simplest database that would work."

Things to Consider:Policy

Student Photos?Student Names?School Security?

Branding/Marketing/Trademark?Copyright?

Quality Technical Expertise

http://somecommontechsense.wikispaces.com

Thank You!