When will schools begin using social media? Who’s doing it well right now?

When will schools begin using social media? Who’s doing it well right now?

December 2, 2010 0 Comments

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I said this to some foundation folks recently:

Any corporation, government agency, worldwide church, school, university, foundation, or other institution that enjoyed the ability to broadcast to the passive masses is going to have to get used to the idea that we now live in a world of conversation, not just dissemination. The information-pushout monopoly died at least 5 years ago. When will organizations adjust to (and design for) the new reality?

photo © 2007 kanonn | more info (via: Wylio)This is highly applicable to P-12 schools, but most educational organizations have yet to take advantage of the power (or recognize the accompanying pitfalls) of social media tools. Here are some questions that are floating around in my head…

What will it take to move schools away from their unidirectional postal service mailings, paper newsletters, Friday folders, parent portal updates, e-mail listservs, and/or grainy public television channels and toward something that’s more multidirectional and interactive?

Why do parents - even digitally-savvy ones - fail to put much pressure on their local schools to use these powerful communication tools?

Are there schools or districts that you feel are doing a good job right now of using social media tools (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube) to interact with their relevant audiences (and, if so, do you have any links)?

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