Ready for a true story?
I once showed a teacher how to install Google Drive on her phone so she could send pics for social media posts to me… in the produce section at my grocery store.
I tell you this not to illustrate my tech knowledge (it’s sketchy) but to bring you in on a little secret – your staff may not be sending you pics and stories because they DON’T KNOW HOW!
Most people know how to take photos with their cell phones. That’s pretty easy. But what about emailing those photos to you? Let’s be sure they know the next steps!
We want teachers, bus drivers, food service workers, and paraprofessionals to send photos they snap with their phones to us so we can tell our district’s story. Celebration is the name of the game.
Sometimes, as school communicators, we forget that not everyone knows how to send in their stories. Providing regular tips and tricks to your staff members and even offering to spend a little time helping someone can make the difference between a few people sending you things and everyone sending you a story. Below are some ideas for you to share with your team to help them use technology to its fullest potential.
- We recently sent this short video to our social media management clients. It provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to send pics directly from your phone.
- Adding a slide like this one to your next staff meeting will surely help people understand how to grab a great picture or two and email them to you.
- Plan ahead for speaking at your fall inservice. You’ll want to challenge staff members to send you a TEST email at that very moment from their phones (they are probably scrolling on it, anyway). There is some serious power in everyone completing a task at the same time. This ensures that your email address is loaded on their phone for the next time!
- If you notice someone struggling to send videos or snapshots, email them and ask if you can pop into their office or classroom for a hands-on lesson. Not only will you be teaching someone, but you will also be enlisting that person as part of your storytelling army by going the extra mile!
Now it’s your turn! What can you do to help bridge that tech gap for your district storytellers?
A guest post from Heidi Feller, our Chief Inspirational Officer. She is a former teacher and district website/social media coordinator, but now she spends her days inspiring the #SocialSchool4EDU school partners with the encouragement they need to tell their story. In her own words, “Our teachers and students knock their socks off learning and growing each school day and the world needs to know about it!”
