Communication Systems and Tools - Choosing Vendors Wisely
By: Torrance Robinson
You probably know how far your technology budget will stretch, and, if you're like most Tech Directors, Principals and Superintendents, you can see the breaking point on the horizon. Now more than ever, choosing vendors wisely is critical for schools. And although every school is different, there are some rules of thumb that will serve a school well in the technology planning phase.
One of the most critical elements of a school’s technology purchases - after computers, basic software, and Internet access - is its communication platform.
Ask yourself: Does your school's communication system include parents? Does your school have its public homepage and private, password-protected user accounts? Is e-mail (including student-safe e-mail), calendar and school directory, unique school URL Internet address, file storage, online classrooms and classwork archives all included?
These are the basics in today's world - the fundamental tools that help improve education by increasing communication - and should be part of a single-source, advertising-free application to connect students, teachers, parents and staff safely and effectively.
Here are some dos and don’ts for choosing a communication system vendor.
DO examine the vendor's privacy policy carefully.
Having a privacy policy does not mean it's a good privacy policy. Many unsuspecting consumers glance at a company's privacy policy and assume it says what it should. Examine the vendor's policies on privacy - and security - carefully, and make sure the product is both COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act) compliant. The policy should explicitly state that the vendor will never market any member information, will not track individual user data, and guarantees that all data posted on the school sites is the sole property of the school.
DO talk to your peers.
Word of mouth is ultimately the most reliable source of endorsement for a product. Be sure to ask for references from vendors you are considering and follow up with a phone call. Most educators are happy to discuss good experiences with technology products and are even more apt to share the bad experiences. Keep good notes in one place to consult when it comes time to commit to a vendor.
DO consider using an Application Service Provider (ASP).
Briefly, ASPs are third-party entities that provide services and solutions to customers across the Internet from a central data center. An ASP can provide integrated, custom, secure communication tools at a fraction of the cost of buying and installing servers, routers, hubs, expensive software and upgrades. Outsourcing to an ASP can take the burden of implementation, programming and maintenance off the shoulders of an already-stressed IT staff, and allow all members of a school to focus on the "core business" of education.
DO choose a single-source solution provider.
Limiting the number of vendors used to create a communication system (whether in-house or outsourced) will save time and money in the long run by cutting down on billing time and paperwork, and giving the tech staff more time to focus on core competencies.
DO carefully explore the management side of the communication system.
Is it easy to add or delete users and change passwords? Can some tasks be easily delegated (for example, updating the school online calendar)? Does the vendor assist with implementation, and will the system be up and running in a reasonable amount of time?
DON'T choose a vendor whose product was designed for the corporate world or higher education.
The needs of K-12 schools are very different from those of corporate America and colleges and universities; any solution you select should be tailored to meet these specific needs. Be sure that the partner you choose has done extensive onsite research with educators and can explain how the product truly addresses problems in the day-to-day work and study lives of your users.
DON'T select a vendor strictly based on cost.
There are many hidden costs in "free" services, including commercial messages, inadequate security measures, lack of ongoing support, and the buying and selling of user information. In fact, many of these services have gone out of business, leaving schools high and dry.
DON'T forget about scalability and integration.
Scalability means that the product can be expanded and allow for a logical hierarchy and easy management. You can look to the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF), www.sifinfo.org, for great strides toward ensuring that K-12 instructional and administrative software applications work together more effectively. SIF is not a product, but rather an industry-supported technical blueprint for K-12 software that will enable diverse applications to interact and share data seamlessly, now and in the future.
DON'T ignore the value of ongoing support.
Check that the vendor's staff is reachable by phone and by e-mail, that there is no extra charge for ongoing support, and that the product includes online help for every user. Onscreen help or tips should also be available in multiple languages.
Torrance Robinson is president and co-founder of eChalk.
Product Roundup
School Alert and Notification Service from Database Systems Corp.
Maintaining contact with students, faculty or parents is now a much easier task with Database Systems’ school alert and notification phone service. School announcements such as meetings or special events can be automatically broadcast to all or part of your community with the same, consistent message from the automatic message broadcasting system. Messages can be sent immediately to all of your students and staff so that important events such as weather-related school closings can be broadcast to everyone at once. Simply record your announcement online and specify the list of individuals who are to receive this message. Database Systems also provides 800 number answering services that let you record your own announcements and events and play these messages to callers from anywhere in the country.
www.databasesystemscorp.com
Graduate Follow-up Surveys from LifeTrack Services
LifeTrack Services offers graduate follow-up services for high schools across the United States. They offer a variety of programs ranging from Senior Exit Surveys only to a comprehensive 5-year program with three surveys. Each of their surveys offers schools flexibility to customize the content of the yes/no or multiple-choice questions. Your compilation reports are easy-to-read, displaying your data in both bar graph and table form. Their overall national response rate on the surveys exceeded 62% for 2004-2005. The information you receive is too valuable to be ignored. Document the wellness of your programs while increasing your public relations efforts. New services include Athletic/Activity Survey Program and Middle School Exit Survey.
www.lifetrack-services.com
Telecor
Telecor is the premier manufacturer of communications systems designed to meet the unique and demanding needs of today’s schools. Telecor manufactures a complete line of communications systems, time control products and emergency signaling products. Their systems provide emergency signaling, paging, intercom, music distribution and bell scheduling in one easy-to-use system. Their communications systems can interface to an existing telephone system, or they can provide a completely integrated system to handle both internal and telephone communications needs. They also offer a complete line of integrated analog or digital clocks for timekeeping. The systems are manageable using an exclusive Web-based program, allowing access across the LAN/WAN or Internet for convenient cost-saving management of the systems from a single location.
www.telecor.com
DyKnow
A leader in interactive education, DyKnow combines sound teaching with intuitive technology to create flexible and effective solutions for teaching, learning and collaboration. Grounded in the educational experience, DyKnow software engages learners through note delivery technology, interactive tools, content playback, classroom monitoring, and anywhere-anytime access. DyKnow Vision is classroom interaction software that allows the teacher to transmit course content to student PCs during class, where it is available for immediate annotation. Using Vision, teachers can retrieve and replay student work to spark class discussion. Students can lead class, collaborate and share work with the teacher from their own seats. After class, users can access, replay, and modify their personalized DyKnow notebooks from any Internet-connected computer. DyKnow Monitor is lab/laptop control software that gives teachers thumbnails of student desktops with the ability to block applications and disable computers. Monitor can stand alone or integrate with DyKnow Vision though a single interface.
www.dyknow.com
