Using @IFTTT For Better School Communications

Recently, I was talking with a few school administrators on how they could better communicate with their parents and the community. One obstacle that many schools and districts face is figuring out the most effective ways to ensure all are well informed and have all the information. Traditionally, notes home in a Wednesday Packet or using a website have been used. However, it seems that life sometimes gets in the way of these traditionally methods being effective. In my conversation with these leaders we talked about the struggles they have and how non-traditional means could be used to reach larger parts of their communities. 

Now we have to remember, communications is more than just information. Sure, the upcoming athletics schedule or after-school meeting times are important. But equally important are the stories that are told through the learning that happens everyday in every school building everywhere. There are usually many great things that deserve to be told each day. Those stories can be powerful and go a long way in building support with the community. 

I've been an advocate for the school leaders to be a walking PR Machine for their schools for a while now. Mobile devices we can carry in our pockets are powerful. They can take pictures, record video and audio. And combine that with access to the Internet, those can be shared across the globe in an instant. So during a walkthrough or just on a stroll through the building, its easy to capture, tell and share those stories. 

In my conversation with the school administrators on sticking point keep coming up over and over again. While there are many great places to share these stories, it takes so much time to post them to all the various places. Sharing a tweet on Twitter, and a post on Facebook and a post on Instragram and a brief story on Tumblr and on and on and on, it can be overwhelming or too much to keep up with. 

Enter IFTTT

If This, Then That. 

If you've heard me before I've professed my love for all things IFTTT. The premiss is that when you do something (take a picture, post somewhere, etc.) then something else happens somewhere else. For example, a recipe I use all the time is if a picture of me that I am tagged in on Facebook is posted there, then that picture is automatically saved to a folder in my Dropbox. I set up the recipe one time and IFTTT does the heavy lifting for me after that. There are recipes for all sorts of things. Weather, data, blog posts, controlling your lights, if you can think of something you want to happen when you do something there is probably a recipe for it. 

So my love of IFTTT got me thinking. 

If the barrier to using these means of communication is not being able to keep up with them all, then IFTTT could be the answer. You set things up one time and done. 

Some recipes to try:

• RSS to Twitter-Automatically take blog posts or website updates and have them posted to Twitter.
• Post Instagram Photos to Twitter as Native Photos-One of the problems with posting Instagram photos to Twitter is they appear at links. This recipe will turn those links in to full photos. 
• Post Facebook Status To Twitter-Update your Facebook status? This recipe will auto-post it to Twitter. 
• Wish People Happy Birthday on Facebook-Have staff or student birthdays in Google Calendar? This recipe will wish them Happy Birthday on your school Facebook page. 

And now with their new DO App, its even easier. 

The DO App automates the process even more by taking a lot of the guess work out things. Designed for photos and notes, the DO will will make it that much easier and frankly remove any excuse you have for sharing. 

So after some time setting things up and talking about what stories to tell and how often, these school leaders were ready to share with their communities all the great things that were happening behind their walls. 

What about you? How do you make the sharing process easier in your building? What tools are you using? Leave your thoughts below. 

The Administrator PR Machine

It seems like everywhere we turn, education is under the microscope. From members of Congress to the mother next door, everyone has an opinion on education. What we should do and how we should do it. And, to me at least, the focus is on the negative. "This is what's wrong." "Why aren't these test scores better?" "What was that teacher thinking?" 

But as someone who spends a lot of time walking the hallways and seeing kids in the classroom, there is so much good out there. I see kids doing amazing things everyday that we can share with our school community, our parents and the world. 

It's all about Public Relations. 

And while we might not think of a school needing a PR rep., its true now more than ever. The world needs to see whats happening behind those walls. The job of PR in our schools can be all our responsibility. However, there is really one person, who is well suited that we can turn to to be our PR Machine. 

The Principal.

Look at any celebrity and you might think of PR as a full-time job. For the Principal, it doesn't have to be. You walk the halls everyday and see great things. More often than not you have that powerful device, the mobile phone, you carry with us everywhere. Why not put it to use for more than just email and capture the moments during the day that can help tell your story. And doing that is easier than you think. 

Twitter-I have been advocating the use of Twitter in the classroom and for professional growth for a while now but even easier than that, it can be used by the administrator to tweet about Ms. Smith's Kindergarteners and their weather project or to tell the community about the service project the seniors did. In 140 characters you can change the way people see inside the building and give valuable insight into the good things. 

Facebook-We usually see Facebook as a place to like our game show  or store but it can be a great place to share stories from the classrooms. The principal could post photos, videos, firsthand accounts of sports stories, academic bowl victories (or defeats) and special moments. This could also be a place to invite kids and the community to share their thoughts as well. 

Instagram-With the power of our phones in our pocket, we can capture and share those moments in our day that are fun, special or just plain awesome. The Principal PR Machine can capture those moments with the flick of an app and share then with the world. 

Blogs-While a great place for reflection the blog can be a way to capture, day-by-day, week-by-week, the stories we see when we walk around our buildings. But one of the neatest projects I've seen is a school that invites, everyday, a teacher, student or staff member to share a moment of learning they remember that had an impact on them. What a great idea! Sharing with the community and being open about our learning can help change the conversation. 

Youtube-Take a look at the front page of Youtube and you will see videos there that you just have to scratch your head and wonder "who watches this stuff?" Take some video, instantly upload and you share those moments that matter and help shape the story that your school tells. 

It doesn't take a lot of skill or time to share your story. All it takes is getting out, walking around and looking for the good moments to share with the world. 

photo credit: kk+ via photopin cc