School in the fast lane

In this School in the Fast Lane episode we’re going through six ideas (seven actually!) that you can try on Facebook to reach parents once the feature arrives.

Last month Facebook announced that podcasting was going to be something that could be done in their platform. In this outdoor episode of School in the Fast Lane I have a quick explore of what this might mean for parental engagement and what we need to be thinking about to make best use of it.

The reason for making this episode is an important one and that is to help at least one school, maybe yours, ensure that it takes the steps needed to avoid the total disruption and stress of being hit by ransomware. Don't be lulled into thinking it'll not be you because you've got backups, the latest antivirus and so on.  As Rachel says later on in the episode, in the row of houses where she lives, three out of four were burgled while her home wasn't. Why? Probably because their house has dogs and sometimes that's all you need to dissuade intruders. It's the same principle when protecting the school network, critical data and everyone using it.  Imagine one day your laptop takes an age to sign in to the school server.  No problem - tech support will sort it.  Then imagine connecting to the server and seeing absolutely nothing. SIMS data? No. Finance? No. Backups? What the....? As more and more colleagues sign in and sync up to the server imagine all of their data suddenly being effectively lockup in such a way that nobody, even industry UK and international specialists or police, can unlock it.  You're over a barrel.  The end of the financial year is upon you. Then a message is found which is a ransom demand to be met in 7 days with the prospect of it doubling as the clock ticks down or much worse - losing all of your data forever.  Headteacher Rachel Tomlinson shares the experience she and her colleagues all faced the day that ransomware hit her school servers and over 70% of all laptops.  Causing more stress than any school should ever have to endure, grab a drink, sit back and listen to this nightmare of a ride that your school may well be able to learn from. ::SPOILER ALERT>> Scroll to the bottom of this description if you want to know whether this has a happy ending or not! Rachel is also writing a book that takes in every major school event, more or less, packing it into the time frame of one school day.  When she started this the school hadn't been attacked with ransomware but maybe this too will find its way into the book! ::SPOILER ALERT>> It thankfully all ended well! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

Let me introduce you to, or maybe as it is for me, 'welcome back', Alan November the veteran educator and a leader in transforming teaching and learning,  With a depth of knowledge about all things education, stemming from his work travelling the world to meet with educators, Alan's unmistakable tones are a treat to tune in to in this extended episode of School in the Fast Lane. I've known Alan for such a long time although this is literally the first time we've spoken in over 15 years so what you hear is exactly what happened!  We cover some big themes including resilience, manipulation of information, Great White Sharks, snow and much more. Do join us and if you'd like to leave a comment then feel free. Also, be sure to visit NovemberLearning.com to see his TedEx talks, listen to his podcasts, check out the books and generally roll around in pearls of wisdom that may re-shape the way you think about education. You can follow Alan as @Globalearner on Twitter too. *This version* (#15) of the conversation with Alan is distributed on all podcast platforms but *does not* come with the bonus tune of Rolling Stone's (I can't get no) Satisfaction as chosen by Alan himself. If you're a Spotify Premium Subscriber, you exclusively get the full bonus version of this episode over in Spotify App instead. Otherwise enjoy! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

Here's a special 'School in the Fast Lane' episode featuring the interview of primary Headteacher Sarah White speaking from the heart and to the heart of her school parent community. This interview was aired on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, 27/1/21 Virgin Radio. All rights/logos reserved by Virgin Radio, Sky and applicable artists & recording labels. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

Here’s an invitation to you as a school educator to record your own contribution to the podcast. To do this visit https://anchor.fm/blippit/message , create your own account when you’re done and send it in. Listen for more details. Thanks! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

What's the vibe in your school? What story are the walls telling? A huge fan of display, John makes the case for a new bit of easy tech that might just be what you didn't know you needed! This one is for subject and school leaders in particular. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

If you're from a school who has arrived here from my Linked In network then "Hello!"  I want to learn something new with you.   Normally I’d just publish a recording/podcast but I’d like to try out a new podcast format where each new episode is in 2 parts with the second part created hopefully from other people’s (ie. yours!) audio messages submitted via the Message button. Join in - it’d be great to hear from you! Thankyou!  John --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blippit/message

Linked to recent funds for school implementations of the big two, Google and Microsoft, the broad pros and cons of approaches are reviewed here by John Bidder (@Getloggedin)including: MS Teams, Google Sites & Classroom, Moodle (& Darwinism!), Facebook and school websites at primary and secondary level. John talks about different effects of choices schools are making regarding how they bridge the gaps of different kinds between home and school during lockdown including the role & stresses faced by parents. What’s important to note is that for many, it’s about creating an ecosystem and not depending on one specific provider or approach. Not included are content provider sites, as excellent as many are, in the name of keeping this to a listenable length. This podcast doesn’t pretend to be comprehensive in content and choices being made but it does recognise that viewers are likely to be experienced educators and may be interested in the recent government funding application opportunity described here to support Microsoft & Google roll-outs. It also mentions vschool which is a new Blippit product & service to school based on Google tools. The unedited slide-based video version of this podcast is available on the Blippit Blog.

Sharing some tips about what works when you go back to school and start talking to parents and the community again via social media. We'll do an additional episode about humour soon!

A guest chat (12/18) with Headteacher Dave McPartlin from Flakefleet Primary in Lancashire whose school is going for the Christmas No 1 with their song 'Light Up'. Hear their now global social media story so far #daretodream **Pre-order is available at the time of this podcast recording from all major platforms, single goes live on streaming services (Spotify/Apple Music) 14th December

If you think you're heading, or have headed down already, towards a path of tokenistic social media use for communication at your school, you might find this episode useful featuring lessons learned & action to take.

Here's an archive episode that deals with one of the most commonly asked questions from Heads about what happens to a school website when social media is used by school & how the two can fit (School in the fast lane).

Here's an archive episode that deals with one of the most commonly asked questions from Heads. (School in the fast lane)

This fourth episode takes you through why worrying about parent behaviour shouldn't be a barrier for you using Facebook for your school. (School in the fast lane)

This third episode is about how can your school values be your guide on social media & how relevant is your school website to parents these days? (School in the fast lane)

This second episode focuses on the value of a 'smile' in schools using social media parental engagement. Say CHEESE! You're listening to (School in the fast lane)

This is the very first episode of the 'school in the fast lane' series! I'm unpicking the barriers of adoption for schools wanting to use Facebook to engage parents and the community. Senior School Leadership Team members and teachers I'd love to hear from you.