telling the technology story - vickie bigham

SchoolDude University 2009 - Vicki Smith Bigham

Telling the Technology Story

Presented at SchoolDude University 2009

Vicki Smith Bigham

President, Bigham Technology Solutions, Inc.


Core Values & Skills

Leadership & Vision

BusinessLeadership(Customer

Focus)

Planning &Budgeting Strategic

Results

ProcessResultsTeam Building

& Staffing

ProcessManagementBusiness Leadership

Communication SystemsSystems Mgmt.

Education & TrainingPolicies

What it Takes: The Essential Skills of K-12 CTOs

Information & Analysis

Strategic

Operational


CoSN Essential Skill Area: Communication Systems

• Communicating with all members of the educational community

• Using technology-enhanced tools to support communication with stakeholders


Telling the Technology StoryTelling the Technology StoryPublic relations is a critical component of

your district’s successful technology implementation—

and it involves communicating on an ongoing basis with the range of

stakeholders inside and outside the district.

- from Telling the Technology Story: PR Strategies for School Leaders, Consortium for School Networking, 2006


Telling the Technology Story Includes . . . .

• Articulating, to both internal and external stakeholders, a systemic vision for where the district is headed



• Connecting with the media– Local and regional newspapers– Education newspapers and publications– Other local magazines– Radio and TV, including cable and

educational stations– Local blogs and Internet news sites– PTA/PTO newsletters



• Using an array of district communication tools– E-mail– District websites– Web tools– Voicemail systems– Others


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• Planning for surprises and having a crisis management/ preparedness plan








Do . . . . Don’t . . . .

Get your facts together Say “no comment”

Anticipate hard questions; be prepared with solid answers

Speculate or assume

Respond quickly with only what you know

Use techno-speak

Focus on only what is important Be defensive or point the finger

Say important things first Make “off the record” remarks or assume any remark is off the record

Try to deal with it only once

Consider having one point person for media calls

Be accessible to the media

Return calls within their deadline

Leverage good media relationships

Be sure everyone is on the same page



• Inviting parents and the community into your schools– Share the “state of technology” at

parent/teacher meetings– Host a technology night or technology fair– Have hands-on sessions for parents and

community members



• Keeping legislative partners and policymakers informed– They need to hear your voice– Help them understand how technology is

transforming teaching and learning– Share with them your good news– Be aware of their challenges– Band with other educators for advocacy


Advocacy Resources

• CoSN Advocacy, www.cosn.org/Advocacy/tabid/4181/Default.aspx

• ISTE Advocacy Toolkit, www.iste.org/advocacy/toolkit/

• Ed Tech Action Network (ETAN), www.edtechactionnetwork.org/


Community Support Makes a Difference

70

38

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

% of school leaders who cite strong communitysupport

budgets haveincreased

budgets havedecreased

Source: Digital Leadership Divide, Grunwald Associates


Vicki Smith BighamBigham Technology Solutions, Inc.

8045-B Antoine #101Houston, TX [email protected]

telling the technology story - vickie bigham

Business

technology story includes

technology

district

telling

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