Thing 7 - Web 2.0 Communication Tools

In our school building, email has greatly improved communication. Each day a staff bulletin is distributed by email, giving me easy access to all teachers and staff for quick announcements. When I have more information to share, I have developed a format in MS Publisher that I use for monthly - or so - newsletters. I use it to promote our services, share new resources and keep staff informed on library/lab use. With live links, teachers are able to take a quick look at resources and move on. It seems much more efficient, as well as useful, than anything I have done in print. However, I have also experienced the frustation of email overload. I am committed to managing listservs and subscriptions more effectively this year.

I have also made my email available to students who need to transfer a document to school. Though the transfer of documents is easier now with student email and flash drives, some students and parents appreciate the option of email to my desk. When I receive a document, I save it to his/her student folder, so it is available when class begins. Certainly, I have learned to reserve time for this mission during particular projects where my services have been used heavily.

Email has become a great benefit to our annual Scholastic book fair. Our parent organization will email parents with information about the book fair, in addition to some of the more traditional communications avenues. We also used email to line up volunteers. This proved to be much easier than connecting with phone calls!

Web 2.0 communication tools, such as email, text messaging, instant messaging and web conferencing, are enough to make your head swim. In addition, the current school environment does not support the use of email (except in "scholarly" pursuit), text or instant messaging. So where does this lead? I am excited that our new library catalog upgrade to Destiny allows students to submit book reviews. Students write, then submit their reviews online. Each review must be approved before being posted. I would like to use this feature as soon as we better learn the program and address necessary logins questions. We may need to seek programs, like Destiny, that bridge the Web 2.0 communication abyss in education.

Increasingly, I have found text messaging an effective way to communicate with my own 20 year old son. It is less "invasive" and a great way to make a quick connection. What could be more effective than a personal communication device attached at the hip! I haven't used IM and have always believed that a phone conversation was just as effective. As much time as I am spending on a computer these days, I am beginning to see the advantage!

I have attended MINITEX webinars in the past couple years and found them to be very useful and easy to use. I have also attended web conferences for software promotion and training. This would a great tool within the district, especially if it were free. Having just adopted a be new software, it would be so nice to conference with others in an environment where we could all be looking at the same screen.