Blog

Greetings from all of us at finalsite!

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:53:11 EST

As we wrap up this exciting year, we are so grateful for the fantastic clients that make us the premier provider of web software and services for schools. This year we have welcomed numerous schools to our finalsite family, and have introduced fsSocial, our private social networking tool, that helps school communities stay connected.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us via email or contact one of our team members for more information about how finalsite can revolutionize the way your school provides web services and communications.

Everyone at finalsite wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday season and all the best in the new year.

Sincerely,

P.S. Visit us on Instagram! www.instagram.com/finalsite

Pass it On: Out-of-Door Academy's Video and Portal Page Success Story

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:27:50 EST

In marketing word-of-mouth is king. A good word here or there may mean an additional admission inquiry, donation, or reunion registration.

Out-of-Door Academy is taking full advantage of the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Their campaign – Pass it On – uses finalsite's Portal page type, Media Manager, and Forms Manager to share testimonies and images of the community members' experiences. At the heart of this portal page is a form for parents, students, and others to submit their reasons they love ODA and a video highlighting campus life.

Dennis Chapman, Associate Head for Advancement, and his team was inspired by the Jimmy Fallon Subs Across America video and used a similar concept for their Why I Love ODA video. Within just 48 hours, the video received over 1500 hits on both finalsite's Media Manager and Vimeo.

To drive even more traffic to the video, school staff showed the video at the school's Back to School night and followed with links in the subsequent eNotices. Parents and others also shared, and continue to share, the video on Facebook. Even the legendary sportscaster Dick Vitale, an ODA grandparent, shared the video on his Twitter account, driving further traffic to the school's website.

Dennis and his staff plan to continue the reach of the Pass it On page, creating TV ads based on the video, adding faculty highlights, and a student project that still under wraps.

How are you using word-of-mouth marketing and your school's website? Let us know!

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

St. Ignatius Prep's Alumni Magazine Goes Online

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:51:37 EST

Alumni magazines have been the backbone of ongoing communications with not only graduates but also current families and friends. More and more print publications such as books, magazines and newspapers are accessed by an iPad, tablet or other e-reader. As your constituents' reading habits shift, it's time to consider a new way to share this information. Recently, St. Ignatius College Prepatory in San Francisco, California made the switch from the traditional print Genesis magazine to an all online magazine/blog hybrid. And to top it off, they implemented a responsive design by finalsite so that their content and layout are optimized for any screen size.

Paul Totah, SI Prep's Director of Communications, points out that before this transition, over 16,000 households and 18,000 alumni received the printed version of the magazine. Increasingly, readers were asking to be removed from the mailing list, pointing to the need to rethink 40+ year old publication.

While some schools have opted for PDF or flipbook versions of their magazines, Paul argues that a microsite using responsive design was the better answer for SI Prep

A computer screen showing a web page isn't the same thing as a paper magazine in hand. I spent time studying what other schools have done and entertained bids from various vendors of school apps. When I heard about responsive web sites, I realized that it solve a number of problems. Responsive sites are platform neutral, unlike smartphone or tablet apps (some of which require annual fees to maintain.) Regardless of what new tablet size becomes popular, responsive designs already work with them. I also find my own magazine reading habits changing, as I read more and more online. I expect, in five years time, to print half as many magazines as more and more of my readership switches to online viewing. Lastly, a responsive site lets me publish stories as I write them, rather than wait for publication one, two or three months down the line.

Designing a new microsite using responsive design was a smooth process from concept to architecture and design. The school chose a blog type after some discussion, mainly for the interactivity of readers' ability to comment on blog posts/stories. As Paul notes, "Kelly and Ritsa were both helpful as we bounced ideas back and forth, and the finished product shows the results of our dialogue and collaboration."

Initial feedback is very positive and with more and more publicity in upcoming eNotices and beyond,school staff expect readership to continue to grow. While the school continues to print some issues of the magazine, the plan is to reduce this volume in the coming months as readers switch over.

Wondering if an online magazine, with responsive design or not, is for you? Paul emphasize content, content, content. As he notes, "Go well beyond institutional concerns. Don't be afraid to challenge your alumni to change the world and to change their lives."

How are communication pieces changing at your school with the evolving user habits of today's school community? We'd love to hear from you!

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

One Size Can Fit All: Responsive Design and SFUHS' Website

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:51:15 EST

How your school's communities view your website is rapidly changes. A variety of screen sizes, resolutions, and devices used means that your website's design and layout can vary widely as well. For some schools, that means ensuring that their mobile site is enabled and that content there is current. For other schools, especially those who want to make sure the look-and-feel of their carefully-crafted full site does not change, responsive design is the way to go. (Unsure what responsive design is? This interactive tool is a great place to start.)

Recently, San Francisco University High School, or SFUHS in San Francisco, CA, worked with the finalsite team on a website redesign using responsive design. For SFUHS, the website redesign allowed the school to re-shape its online presence with a design that was modern, bright, unique, and student-centered.

Why responsive design?

Alissa Kinney, SFUHS' Director of Communications, writes

We decided on responsive design because we knew that more and more current and prospective families were visiting our site on mobile devices, and we wanted them to have the best experience possible on the website. Our new responsive design allows us to serve our constituents in a way that we were not able to serve them previously.

Feedback after the re-launch has been overwhelmingly positive with folks not just loving the new design but feeling proud about the school's website. The redesign process was stressfree, and Alissa and her team send a big thank you out to Kelly Hoffman, finalsite Senior Designer, and Daisey Fahringer, Product Best Practice Analyst, for their help along the way!

Want to learn more about responsive design or have a success story to share? We want to hear from you!

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

fsSocial

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:07:45 EST

If you've talked with anyone at finalsite about fsSocial you probably picked up on our excitement of this new product. We have a reason to be excited: it's really cool.

fsSocial is a closed social network that can enhance how you use portals and fsLMS (Academics Manager/Group Spaces). The collaborative possibilities are endless and school-to-home communication is taken to the next level. finalsite social provides a lot of the benefits of a social network while minimizing the risks.

With fsSocial, students, faculty, alumni and other constituents can send private or group messages, share files and links, post activity updates, and more. The social tools can be integrated throughout your site, in academic group spaces, portal pages and in banners. fsSocial lets site users communicate and share with one another quickly and easily, while providing comprehensive, flexible oversight tools to school administrators.

As schools struggle with social media and acceptable use policies this is a great opportunity for schools to discuss appropriate use of social networking tools (both fsSocial and other online offerings). Schools now have a closed social network with all the benefits of Facebook with limited risk. What a great opportunity to educate younger students and parents how to appropriately use social media. We are all in the business of educating students with 21st century tools and skills which includes navigating the social web appropiately.

From a marketing standpoint does having your own private social network make your school more marketable? Appear more forward thinking? Does it make you more attractive to prospective families while increasing your connectivity to all your constituents? We believe the answer is "yes" which is why we are so excited about fsSocial.

We have a recorded webinar, contact us for a live demonstration.

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Design Trends from finalsite's Deployment Team

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:51:43 EST

Kelly Hoffman,
Senior Designer

Maybe your school has had the same website design for a while and it's feeling a little tired. Maybe your marketing goals are changing, or maybe you have new branding. Whatever the reason, schools from time to time consider a site redesign. We sat down with finalsite's Senior Designer, Kelly Hoffman, and asked for her thoughts on design trends and best practices. Here are just a few of her suggestions:

What's Important?

"Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it's decoration." - Jeffrey Zeldman

Our design team suggests looking at content first. Why not look at at Google Analytics to track down what users are really looking for on your site? How do you help them find what they're looking for, then serve them up-to-date, informative, and easy-to-read content?

Out-of-Date Design?

Stale content is the telling sign of a site that needs updating. The more your refresh your content, the longer you can wait between designs. That said, three to five years is about the length of time schools go before thinking redesign.

Trends?

First, consider responsive design. A responsive site means the page layout and content adjust to the screen size of the user, optimizing their experience. In other words, a user on an iPhone may see the same information as the full site, only more streamlined for their device. Users are increasingly expecting this approach, and it's a great way to showcase your school.

Also look at the typography on your website. With Typekit and other tools, designers can now move beyond just Arial and Georgia. This variety, along with the use of larger fonts, can make your site more readable and engaging.

Worried about too much copy? Try to use as few words as possible, but don't let it limit you. If you need to use a lot of copy to get your message or point across, then do it. Don't sacrifice the message for word count. And of course, if you need to use a lot of words to deliver a message, make it interesting and engaging.

Keep it simple. Web designers are focusing on color and typography and avoiding extraneous design elements.

Suggestions?

Ready to rethink your website design? Consider:

Embracing the proper use of content (constantly updated content, that is)
Ensuring that your homepage design tells the story of your school. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Think about what design and content best helps you share your message with all your constituents.

Want to learn more about the design process and how a redesign may help your school's web presence? Contact finalsite today. We'll be happy to help.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

More Engagement; Less Words

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:53:48 EST

When discussing content strategy and more specifically writing for the web, the rule of thumb is to keep it simple. Less words, smaller paragraphs, and straight-to-the-point phrases are fundamental tips in making content accessible and easily-digested for an distractible end user. With that said, you also need to compel your reader to feast rather than nibble on your website. So, how do you format your pages to be more appetizing with less words, especially when language itself is so expressive? The solution: use carefully selected visuals, such as photos and videos, that carry information in an engaging manner.

With pictures, stick to authentic images and use with purpose and ask yourself, "What will the end user gather by looking at it?" There is no coincidence in the popularity of sites like Pinterest, where images take center stage.

Also be sure to incorporate video and be aware of its popularity and of the potential it has for being shared across social networks. Skeptical of its potential or just eager to watch one right now? This video is not only a good example, but offers motivating statistics.

As always, if you are seeking inspiration or need our help with managing you website's images or video, please contact us. The finalsite team is here to help.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Posting to Social Media in the Summer

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:51:17 EST

Summer is here, so you may be wondering how to continue actively posting to your various social media networks. You have worked hard all year to build a community so don't let it dissolve over the summer. While backing off a little and taking some time for yourself is a good idea, it is important to continue to feed your network.

Some ideas:

Blog post by a recent graduate.
Have your alums blog for you - Ravenscroft has one alum blog each month.
Have any school improvement projects happening this summer? Snap some pictures and post them.
Running any summer camps or classes? A short video or few pictures posted online go a long way.
Post a "best of the school year" with your favorite pictures, videos, or blogs from the previous school year.
Remind incoming and returning parents of important dates for the start of the upcoming year.
Remind your community of important or new web site features such as your iphone app or mobile site.

Regardless of what you post remember to link back to your website. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Introducing finalsiteSocial

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:55:06 EST

One of the most exciting highlights from finalsite U 2012 is the announcement of finalsiteSocial. At finalsite, we are committed to next generation technology and finalsiteSocial represents just the next step in our development of industry-leading software.

Social media permeates today's society, even replacing daily communication with tools such as e-mail. Using social media successfully within schools, however, can be a challenge. finalsiteSocial, our new private social networking tool, gives schools a way to collaborate in a secure and safe environment. It's commenting, sharing files, messaging, all in one place.

How can this be used at your school?

Academics

Faculty can quickly post updates (including files, links) to the whole class – no email required
Students can collaborate and contribute to group projects or study groups
Students can message teachers 1:1 for extra help
Teachers can message students who need extra help – or a group of students
No need to issue/manage student emails, as all academic-related updates/messages will be available in their school portal

School-to-Parent

Division principals could open discussion to larger groups of parents (per grade or division). This ongoing thread could provide convenient access to all parents to discuss/address questions and concerns
Teachers – particularly Lower School teachers - might find this an efficient way to share pictures and communicate to parents about day-to-day activities and to receive feedback from them
Teachers may also find this a helpful tool to assist parents in organizing special class activities like field trips and celebrations

Parent-to-parent

Parent committees would no longer have to rely on the school for lists of parent emails or for sending emails back and forth between lots of volunteers
Group-based updates/comments would simplify and consolidate communication for these parents

Alumni connections

Take class notes to the next level with this more modern take on communicating and sharing
Alumni can coordinate on upcoming alumni events

Admission

Schools could create groups of incoming students and parents to reach out and begin to build this relationship before these families officially become part of the school community

How you use this flexible tool is up to you. With finalsiteSocial you can:

Collaborate, communicate and share in a protected environment
Post Group 'activity updates' with files and URLs
Post comments to Group activity updates
View your Enhanced Activity Stream with avatars, filtering, and search options
Use Internal Messaging with search options
Create Mini "Collaboration" Groups
Create Joinable Groups
Access finalsiteSocial on your mobile site
Create alerts based upon activity

How could you use finalsiteSocial at your school? Let us know!

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Doing Better Together: The finalsiteU Effect

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:24:13 EST

The finalsite team is back from our favorite time of the year...finalsite U. During that time, the social web erupted as inspired attendees raced to share information across their networks near and far. Twitter feeds and status updates reflected new ideas; LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter generated digital connections; and Instagram and Media Manager swelled with smiling faces and new friends. The sudden fluctuation of gadget-facilitated socialization during these few days only supports the claim that we are, without a doubt, social beings that do better together. Despite the dispersion of the attendees after our three-day finalsite fest, conversations continue. Participate and connect with finalsite and schools through:

As always, let us know if there is anything we can do for you. See you next year!

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Mobile May Be Bigger Than You Think

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:54:57 EST

A recent study found that mobile web traffic widely varies by country. For example, in the U.S. and Canada 20% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices, but in China – 40% of all web traffic is on a mobile device.

What does that mean for schools? In short, mobile matters, regardless of where you are. Mobile can, however, matter more for schools with large international populations, whether you are actually an international school outside the U.S., a boarding school, or a school with a large percentage of students from outside the U.S. Regardless of where you are or whom you serve, mobile is a trend that we need to pay attention to in our school's admission, alumni, fund-raising, and internal marketing efforts.

What to do?

Create a mobile site for your school.
For finalsite clients, this is included at no cost with any package. For others, you may want to explore how to create a mobile site. finalsite can help.
Reinvent, don't replicate, your full version.
Mobile users are task-oriented and time-crunched. What would someone need to know about your school if they are in an airport, in carpool, or on the soccer field? This may include:
- Calendars
- News
- Athletics schedules
- Admission inquiry forms
- Donation forms
- Media
Keep content current.
For example, finalsite's new CoachMobile gives your student team manager, coach, and others the ability to update game scores from an iPhone, iPad, or Android right there on the field, court, etc.
Think app.
The finalsiteApp for iPhone offers a different user experience with rich functionality. Schools in competitive markets or who are wanting to push the envelope with internal marketing are finding the finalsiteApp to be key in achieving their goals.
Assess ROI.
Consider QR codes from print materials that drive users to specific pages. Assess traffic using Google Analytics. In short, make sure that your mobile site (and App) are doing their jobs.

Look for mobile web traffic to increase in the months ahead and look to finalsite for continued improvements on how to connect to users in our growing mobile society. Got questions? Talk to a finalsite team member and we'll be glad to share more about mobile solutions for your school.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

Saint Xavier High School and finalsite win Mobile Award

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:01:07 EST

finalsite and Saint Xavier High School are the proud recipients of the Best School Mobile Application by the Web Marketing Association (WMA). The Web Award competition recognizes the best websites in 96 industries and has recently added the m.WebAwards competition to highlight excellences in mobile sites and applications.

Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, is a private Catholic secondary school serving young men in grades 9 through 12 and is sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers. Saint X has a successful mobile-friendly website but found that Apple users – among its 30,000 students, alumni, parents of students, grandparents of students and parents of alumni - were more inclined to access mobile information through an app vs. a mobile friendly website. School staff wanted to create a unique and easy way to engage these individuals more fully in the life of the institution.

In just one month's time, the App was downloaded over 1200 times, a substantial number given the school's enrollment and alumni base. By successfully increasing participation in charitable giving efforts and community events, school staff enhanced the school's opportunity for continued success. Said Mike Littell, Vice President for Advancement at Saint Xavier High School, "Embracing technology as a part of our strategic efforts to increase student, parent and alumni engagement has been a critical success factor for us. Our interest in being present on the Apple platforms of iTouch, iPad and iPhone is a key part of our overall efforts to engage constituents where they are most comfortable."

The finalsiteApp for iPhone has now been implemented by a number of schools across the U.S. and many more are in development at this time. The app's intuitive navigation is divided into News, Athletics, Calendar events, and a School Directory. The finalsite app is tailored to a school's website, and features the school's own unique branding. Customization controls allow individual users to set preferences regarding which information is displayed. The information presented in the finalsite app is drawn from the database of the standard website, and rigorous privacy controls ensure sensitive, private information is only available to authorized users.To learn more, contact the finalsite team at education@finalsite.com or go to www.finalsite.com.

Jon Moser

President & Founder

finalsite and Serco Learning Announce Technical Partnership

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:35:48 EST

finalsite and Serco Learning are partnering together to offer increased data integration and single sign-on capabilities to schools worldwide. finalsite provides online communications and website solutions for schools in over 40 US states and 40 countries. Serco Learning offers tools and services to education establishments worldwide to help support their strategic use of data in driving improved educational standards. Details on future integration and SSO features will be announced in the months ahead.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to welcome Serco Learning into our marketplace at finalsite," notes finalsite President and Founder Jon Moser. "As always, it's about the user experience. Our International schools will now have the option to move data from Serco in an automated way right into finalsite."

Serco Learning has recently launched Progresso, its exciting, innovative new education information platform designed to support school improvement. Interoperability is at the very heart of Progresso and Serco looks forward to establishing closer integration with its partners in education such as finalsite. John Parkinson, Serco Learning Sales & Marketing Director notes:

"We are delighted to welcome finalsite to the Serco Learning Technical Partner Programme. We trust that by working closely together to deliver fully integrated products, we can offer our shared customers a greatly enhanced user experience."

Contact the finalsite team for more information on this exciting new partnership.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

Essential SEO Tips

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:19:06 EST

It isn't a complicated theory: in order to interact with your site, the user must first know about you. To know about you, the user must first find you. One well-known path information seekers turn to is the seemingly omniscient search engine. So, set aside complacency and strive to win the affection of major search engines, such as Google, for the best chance of leading rank when it comes to Internet searches. You can position your school's website to be a top contender for certain keywords and key phrases through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the process of improving how high your website appears in an Internet search. Your goal: aim high. The challenge: your competitors want the same and are vying for many of the same keywords (for example, private school, independent school, Catholic high school, college preparatory...) It isn't a simple popularity contest, nor can it be won overnight, so be patient and be prepared. These tips should give you an idea of how to begin.

Keyword Selection

What words are your users typing into a search engine to find you (hint: dig into your Google Analytics)? And which of these do you share with your competitors? Be sure to come up with some keywords and key phrases that are unique to you, too. For example, if you have a stellar music program, then you've got a few keywords that make you stand out. Now, take these words and incorporate them into your web content – but do avoid over-indulging in their usage (keep your website authentic instead of sounding like spam).

Quality Content

Search engine spiders crawl and index site pages but they're going to steer clear (as will your users) if your content is old enough to have metaphorical cobwebs. Help both the spider and your human readers by using page titles and page headings relevant to the content in the page (think newspaper headline) and by writing for the web. That often means letting go of the words and writing short paragraphs, using bulleted lists, and being straight-forward with content. If it helps your human users, it will help search engines, too.

Inbound links

Search engines are often interested in your reputation. The more people that like you, the more Google will trust that you belong higher up in the rank. Get relevant websites to link back to you, for example, a school association website. Stay away from link farms. Paying to be liked is not cool.

Sitemap

This page lists out and links to the major pages on your site. With it, search engine spiders have an easier time finding where they need to go.

Image Descriptions

Spiders aren't known to have keen eyesight. Those crawling your pages lack the ability to "see" or search images or graphics, and are limited to reading web-safe text. Be sure to provide an alt-tag/image description for any images or graphics you use on your site (and don't forget to be descriptive and use your keywords).

Social Media

Get people talking about you—the more you do, the more you'll have links to your website spread across the web.

If you find yourself scavenging results for your school, then take action. Follow these tips, do some research, and ask for help when needed. Be aware that improving your rank doesn't happen overnight nor is it permanent. It is a process. An ever-changing one, in-fact. For help with Search Engine Optimization and more, feel free to contact us. We would love to help.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Google+ for Schools

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:23:28 EST

With over 90 million users, Google+ is a relevant and growing social network. A strong argument for getting started on Google+ is how it affects search results. Google+ updates and the google +1 button now appear in the organic search results on google.com. If you have a +1 button on your site or are actively posting to Google+, you are improving your Google ranking. The connections you have on Google+ affect the search results when they search for a specific keyword.

Beyond improving SEO, how can your school use Google+? Consider how Loomis Chaffee is using Google+.

Potential projects for classroom use on Google+ include creating foreign language Hangouts, live multiuser video conversations using Google Translation to enable video conferencing among people speaking different languages. French students at Loomis may hold a hangout with English students in France - imagine! Teachers could promote group projects through Google+ by dividing a class into whatever sized group a teacher chooses. Using course streams in this platform, a teacher has the ability to monitor the group project and assist students in real time.

Science teacher and Director of the Kravis Center for Excellence in Learning, Scott MacClintic uses Google+ with his students:

At Loomis Chaffee Google + is used in several classrooms for homework help sessions by using Hangouts with my students to extend the time in which a teacher can interact with them. The ability to interact with students beyond the classroom and beyond email has been a definite plus.

Stay current with social media and search by staking your claim on Google+.

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Partner for the Future

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:06:48 EST

Since day one of finalsite, we have been a technology company, building CMS solutions for schools BUT I believe our sustainabliity has come from the people behind finalsite and the vision to evolve in this ever-changing technological world we live in. From marketing to support to product development and everywhere in between, my colleagues at finalsite have found a place in their hearts and minds to truly understand our school partners.

In our niche environment of schools, you must truly understand it is about the experience, building efficiencies, ease-of-use, and planning for a sustainable process for the future, each at the highest level you can imagine.

As we passed the decade plus mark, we have evolved from a techie company into a "Partner for the Future" with knowledge on mobile, social, CMS, LMS and integration with best-of-breed providers like Senior Systems, Veracross, Blackbaud, Naviance, Google Apps for Education, and more. See our Marketplace for a complete listing.

finalsite's ability to evolve as online needs change as well as being best-of-breed in product, people, and support help us to be the partner of the future we envision.

In Their Words

"We love working with finalsite because they are always available to help and sincerely care about teaching clients how to work within the content management system. During our Elementary design and our Middle and High School redesign, they took our many requests and ideas into consideration and created superb websites that capture the personality of the school. We are very pleased with the professionalism, design, and customer service finalsite provides."

Rob Dimartino

Director, Business Development

finalsite and RenWeb Partnering for Greater Data Integration for School Websites

Thu, 03 May 2012 15:14:45 EST

finalsite, a leader in web services solutions for schools worldwide, and RenWeb School Management Software, the K-12 industry leader in Web-based student management systems, announce increased functionality in both data integration and single sign-on capabilities between their products. The RenWeb/finalsite partnership benefits those schools wanting to simplify the user's online experience as well as to leverage data in the mobile environment, communications, and password-protected communities.

The RenWeb/finalsite partnership provides the ability:

To pull constituent – parent, student, faculty and staff, and pre-enrolled parents – data from RenWeb into finalsite
To transfer academic data (classes and associated teacher and student rosters) from RenWeb into finalsite
To pull RenWeb public calendar data into finalsite calendars
To display ParentsWeb announcements into any finalsite Portal
To allow students, parents, and faculty to securely access RenWeb's ParentsWeb and FacultyWeb environments from their respective finalsite portals without requiring a second login.

"As a leader in web software and solutions for independent schools," notes finalsite President and Founder Jon Moser, "finalsite believes strongly in the value that integration brings to our clients. For that reason, we are excited to announce our enhanced partnership with RenWeb which will offer increased in-depth data integration which will positively impact everything from mobile websites to Apps to online teaching and learning to blogs to enewsletters to calendars and more."

"We are pleased our deeper integration allows both RenWeb and finalsite to provide more value to the schools we jointly serve," said Brad Lee, CEO of RenWeb. "Whether a school wants to provide parents a single sign-on for navigating between finalsite's secure parent portal and RenWeb's ParentsWeb, or the school wants to enter calendar items and announcements once for display in both systems, our services now provide the level of integration one should expect from the industry leaders in providing web solutions and school management software for private schools."

Contact the finalsite team today to learn more about the finalsite/RenWeb partnership or join us for a demonstration services and features.

May 9 at 2:00PM (EST)
Register now

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

Going Green: From Print to Pixels

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:18:15 EST

This past Sunday, 1 billion people celebrated Earth Day in 192 countries. Joining the movement is sure to be a win-win. The benefits extend beyond environmental preservation, in fact, better tracking capabilities and financial savings are motivating factors, not to mention delivering communications in a form mindful of an increasingly more digitally-dependent audience. So, how can you use web technology to support a green initiative at your school?

There are several ways you can reassign your publications from print to pixels. Here are just a few good examples:

• Online magazines
• E-newsletters
• Digital Viewbooks
• QR Codes to reduce paper when print is necessary

It isn't just a plus for the planet, but a nice perk for the pocketbook! In the first two years of launching finalsite, St. John's Preparatory School (Danvers, MA) saved 452,126 pages of printed paper and $46,308 in printing and mailing costs by using finalsite Portals for school-to-home communication! Analyze how much you're spending in print and take a look at where you can trim back.

It doesn't stop there. Going digital also gives you access to invaluable data that paper along can't provide. Google Analytics offers you instantaneous insight into the reading habits and interests of your constituents.

As much as the benefit is in your favor and that of the environment, it is on the right track in responding to the behaviors and uses of technology attributed to your constituents. Tablet devices are approaching the role of replacing print magazines. You'll see that stack on the coffee table diminish, replaced by one slick device that can hold more data than the legs of the table were willing to hold in print.

Take a look at how you can enhance your communications and reduce costs by thinking digital. It's sure to feel like a breath of fresh air.

Happy Earth Day!

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Social Media Help

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:04:33 EST

Last week I presented at the National Catholic Educational Association Convention in Boston. I concluded my talk with an offer "if anyone wants help with social media, whether you're a finalsite partner or not, feel free to contact us, we're happy to help." A number of people approached me later that day and asked "we'd love some help with our social media plan, but what's the catch?" I assure you there is no catch.

There is often a lot of fear when it comes to social media; while a small dose of fear can be healthy often times knowledge, education, and some exposure to that which you are afraid of can alleviate the fear. If you are leery of using social media for your school this next sentence will not make you happy - social media is not going anywhere, in fact the web is getting MORE social. It is time to learn to embrace the socialization and harness it's power to benefit your school.

I'm not going to overwhelm you with Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter statistics, I'm sure you've heard it all before; but know that your audience is actively on these channels and you are conspicuous by your absence or infrequency of engagement.

Fear not, we are here to help. finalsite offers free social media help to any school whether you are a finalsite partner or not. Simply inquire here and someone from finalsite will be in touch to offer tips, guidance, and best practices.

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Mobile First

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:30:11 EST

"Forget what we have taken for granted on how consumers use the Internet.... Soon, more users will access the Web using mobile devices than using PCs, and it's going to make the Internet a very different place." – Mobile Internet Users vs. PC Internet Users in 2015

What if you returned to your office tomorrow morning, and your laptop (or desktop) had been replaced by a smartphone or tablet? And...what if your parents, students, alumni, faculty, and staff had the same experience? Among many things, that device shift would mean that you and other users could look for:

Sites that are task-driven rather than copy-heavy
Simpler navigation and easy-to-click options
Apps that are customizable for your role at the school
Opportunities to edit your school's web presence from a handheld device
Designs that are meant to be seen on smaller screens

Such a scenario may become reality in just a few years. At finalsite, we are preparing for tomorrow today with a "Mobile First" mentality, including

A mobile site for every finalsite client
The finalsiteApp for iPhone
The ability to add scores and recaps to Athletics Manager from smartphones such as iPhone or Android
The ability to edit basic content on your site from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch
The ability to receive Alerts - text messages and/or e-mails on your phone
Auto-generated QR Codes for any page on your site via finalsite's Page Manager
The ability to post to your mash-up page(s) from your mobile phone through Twitter and Facebook
And, a commitment to designing for mobile first, full version second.

We're not waiting for 2015 to develop products for the mobile world. Talk to the finalsite team about how your school can make the leap to mobile. We're happy to help.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on mobile and your school. Please connect with me on LinkedIn.

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Engaging the Video-Hungry Audience

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:20:19 EST

It is no coincidence that 24-48 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute, for we, without a doubt, enjoy watching online videos-- from sincere to just plain old silly. Surveys show that most Internet users actually view online video on a regular basis and may even consider a dose or two of online video as part of their daily web repertoire. Are you taking advantage of the opportunity to feed this type of content to your video-hungry end-user through both your full and mobile websites?

Fortunately, it doesn't necessarily require fancy equipment or video experts to put together an engaging video. It does require, however, interest by the producer and the subjects, not to mention, some good editing—a no to low-cost solution. A simple idea and simple piece of equipment can produce an eye-catching video that delivers a purposeful message. On the other hand, a great idea with poor execution is no better than a poor idea with poor execution. Here are some things to consider when attempting to create your own low or no-cost videos:

Length
Brevity can often be more effective with certain videos, but is subjective and requires good judgment on your part. A short, stimulating, and substance-filled video is going to be more powerful than a long video that bores. Simply put, get comfortable with editing out some footage.
Authenticity
Consider handing the camera to the students and allow them to capture authentic footage and passion.
Music
(the kind you have rights to use, of course)
Variety
Don't spend too long focusing on one object, i.e. A person talking. You can show clips of the subject matter and transition in and out of those different images and the speaker while maintaining his/her monologue.

Once you've completed your video project, then upload it to your website and your mobile site using tools like the finalsite Multimedia Manager and Mobile Media page types. Consider how they could be used through social media to drive traffic to your site, too. I can't promise these tips are the key to an Academy Award or anything like that, but when keeping them in consideration, you're sure to feel rewarded when you enrich your web content with some engaging new video content.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Facebook Timeline

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:08:55 EST

On March 30th your school's facebook page will have the new timeline. Are you ready? Ready or not here it comes, so here is some information you need to know.

Timeline emphasizes large photos and gives you more control over what the users view first. A big change from the previous interface is that the timeline — as opposed to the wall or a custom landing page, is now the landing spot for everyone who visits your school's page. This makes the cover photo more important. You now have greater control over the user's first impression.

Your page's cover photo also includes a small profile picture. Since fans identify your updates based on your profile picture, use either your school logo or an identifiable picture. Below the cover photo are links to applications such as photos, videos, and blogs. These "apps boxes" have also gone visual. With the exception of the "Photos" tab, which displays your most recently uploaded image, you can customize each icon with a title and an image.

Another feature of timeline is called "Milestones" — stories that highlight events in your school's history. Updating the milestones when major events happen can help stimulate conversation and engage users. "Milestones" allow you to tell your school's history.

Facebook's redesign capitalizes on users' wanting more photos. Be thoughtful in how you use images on your page, and you'll satisfy your fans. Select pictures carefully and strategically

One major new feature that marketers will love is the ability to "pin" certain posts to the top of the Timeline. Similar to making a news story "sticky" in the finalsite news manager; pinning a post to the top of Timeline allows it to precede any other content.

Facebook has published a Pages Overview Guide (PDF link) that can walk you through many of the new features.

The new timeline will allow schools to create better marketing on facebook with the milestones and more visual content; take some time to think about how you want to utilize the new layout to help achieve your social media marketing goals. And as always if you have questions or would like some help, reach out to finalsite.

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Planning your Web Strategy

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:24:12 EST

Top Ten Steps for Planning your Web Strategy

1. Determine who will oversee your web strategy

People will lead this charge and ownership is key to long term success. Someone at school needs to simplify your process, communicate your core messages, and engage your audience. It comes down to executing and repeating in building a personalized web.

2. Review your school's current strategic plan and see how web plays into it.

Is it a priority? If not, make it one. Make sure the head of school sees your Google analytics, reviews your competitor schools' sites, and reads feedback from all users. The web needs to be on one of the top steps of your school's priority ladder in this day and age for recruitment, retention, communications, friendraising and fundraising. It is a key to building a sustainable school model for the future.

3. Review your business operations on print, media, website and tools to consolidate the user experience.

Many schools are throwing time and energy, let alone money away from doing things without efficiencies and not having a strategy to streamline process for the future. Are you one of those schools?

4. Make sure you (and more importantly, your leadership team) understand education trends and work WITH them not against them.

These include mobile strategies, social media integration, inbound marketing, flipped classroom technologies, and user experience.

5. Look at how you can better use the web to improve productivity, your product, and processes.

6. Understand the wants and needs of your constituents.

All of your constituents are going to use the website. Make them feel wanted there or in personalized portals.

7. Plan how to grow your communications within your community.

Focus on the frequency of touches...what they want, when they want it.

8. Plan how to connect with other systems to improve the user experience.

Use the power of single sign-on, feeds from RSS and iCal, and embedded widgets to leverage the user experience from reusable and scalable content.

9. Plan to empower your community to share content.

Student produced videos, parent-uploaded photos from the soccer game, teachers sharing lessons online, alumni or student blogging occasionally; all are examples of empowering your users for better longer lasting user engagement.

10. Mobile First.

If you are starting out from a Web 1.0 website, it's now time to plan for the future, plan for mobile. Here is some reasons for top 10 for mobile.

What steps have you taken for a robust web strategy?

Rob Dimartino

Director, Business Development

Making Sense of Data Chaos

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:16:36 EST

Recently finalsite's Product Integration Manager Jan den Hartog and I gave two webinars on the value of data integration, single sign-on, and beyond. The schools I talk to continually point to managing data, moving data, and maximizing how they use data as ongoing struggles. finalsite, through its partnerships with industry-leading Student Information Systems (and other vendors) helps to make sense of the chaos.

Why is Data Integration Essential for Schools?

Personalization by User
Parents, alumni, students, faculty, and others can now receive just the information relevant to them. Emails, mobile school directories, calendars, alerts, blogs, and more can focus just on the needs of certain constituents.
Ease-of-Use for the User
Consolidate passwords for both your website and your SIS, and make it simpler for parents and others to access vital information. Ease-of-use can translate into higher traffic on your site!
Efficiency for Site Admins
No more typing data into both finalsite's Constituent Manager or Academics Manager AND your SIS. Extra typing means wasted time and increased chance of error; data integration reduces these problems.

Does finalsite Have Data Integration and/or SSO With My Preferred Vendor?

finalsite offers data integration (and often SSO as well) with Raiser's Edge, Education Edge, Veracross, Senior Systems, and other databases. In addition, SSO is available with many other online software products you use across campus including Google Apps. For a detailed listing, go to www.finalsite.com/marketplace.

For details on how finalsite's data integration actually works and much more, access our recording of our recent webinars at finalsite.com/webinararchives (password: watchitnow).What databases (SIS and fund-raising) does your school use? Take a minute and let us know through our online survey. Your input will help us as we continue to expand our partnerships in the future.

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Mobile Giving: Saint X's Story

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:10:05 EST

Between the recent end-of-year giving and final pushes for annual funds, now is a busy time for many independent school advancement offices. With finalsite's mobile pages, many schools are exploring the advantages of taking their appeals to an on-the-go population. Michael J. Littell, Vice President for Advancement at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, shares the recent success and future plans for mobile giving at the school:

We have steadily grown our online gift program over the last three giving years [with] most [of] the growth after joining the finalsite family. Today, we now yield one of every 10 gifts through the online options that we offer. This fiscal year we expect that to receive 1,000 gifts totaling over $200,000. Our main philosophy regarding the ease and convenience of making an online gift is this: online donors do not give because of a unique, creative approach via e-mail or enotify. They give because the institution already has a solid relationship with them and they have developed a habit to give annually. [A recent end-of-year appeal was] sent to calendar 2010 donors who had yet to give in 2011. This was a friendly reminder sent almost as a courtesy and very personalized to each individual. [It's] not a shotgun approach but that of a high-powered rifle so to speak.

How did this 2011's year-end communication differ from years past?

We approached a larger group of donors and did not cull out board members or major donors. Since it was personalized, I received several e-mails from donors telling me that they had "just made their gift online" which, of course, I already knew because I received the e-mail from the online gift tool just prior to the donors. It is important to remember that this particular ask also generated several responses that the donor would mail the check by the 12/31/11 postmark. I monitored each of those and acknowledged these donors when their checks arrived by mail.

Who set up the mobile giving page and how easy/difficult was the process?

I make a point as the Vice President to learn all of our tools before expecting any staff member to execute the work necessary. It is much easier and strategic for me to direct the usage when fully knowing the tool and it's capacity. So, I set it up myself. It is VERY easy to use and finalsite is always a quick phone call away for questions if the support knowledge base seems too overwhelming. The good thing about finalsite is once you work with the product, all of the tools operate under the same procedures.

What plans do you have in the future for additional online giving campaigns?

We will continue to run another campaign in conjunction with our alumni phonathon effort during March. We will contact 5,000 plus alumni with [a goal of] 60% making pledges. On each Friday in March, that week's pledge group will receive an eNotice to thank them for their pledges and the opportunity to click and give.

What are some suggestions you'd give to schools looking to?

This is the future of our industry....Be flexible with our donors and our constituents
Learn the tool
Build your mobile site for donors and parents and alumni
Use the mobile site to not only harvest gifts but [also] harvest event registrations.

We receive, literally, hundreds of registrations for events though the site and many through the mobile site. Our links for these forms are mentioned everywhere. That is the key. We are awaiting the finalsiteApp for iPhone right now and will use it in the same way.

How is your school's website and/or mobile pages assisting your team in its fund-raising or marketing goals? Contact us today and let us know!

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

Is My Website Talking Itself to Death?

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:27:44 EST

You may be consistent when it comes to maintaining the health of your car, yourself, and your home, but are you doing the same for your school's website? Your web presence should be maintained with regular check-ups and preventative care. Your online presence may be suffering due to some overlooked deficiencies on your site. Ever heard of the excessive and over-indulgent word syndrome (ok, probably not; but it exists)? The pages are long. The words are redundant. Once a reader come in to close contact with the page, he recoils as the army of words, a potent allergen to the sensitive web user, begin to swarm! Then he remembers that tiny emergency-call button that looks like this "x" and hits it to find relief. If you aren't sure if this is happening to you, then consider performing the following diagnostic tests:

Check for a pulse and unusual changes with Google Analytics (see Tim McDonough's recent finalsiteShare post). Pay particular attention to bounce rates and time spent on site. Your website may be in poor health if you see the decline in this data. We'll talk revival in a moment.
Use the petri dish method to target colonies of words. They resemble pages long in length with low time spent and even high bounce rates.
Talk about it and ask questions from those who care. Don't be afraid to solicit honest advice from those that would use your website most.

If the answer is "yes, my website is talking itself to death" then you should take action. Consider the following remedies:

Stay heart healthy: Create a two-way conversation using social media. Remember this should flow in and out of the heart of your web presence – your website.
Join a support group: Gather the voice of your constituents to express abstraction while you focus on fact by encouraging content-contribution.
Slim down: Edit or eliminate any pages with unusually long lengths.
Preserve eye health: Structure your pages for visual optimization.

Altering habits such as these can lead to a longer, happier life—in website years.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Analyze This

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:01:13 EST

What is your web strategy? Do you have a web strategy? Does your web strategy need refining?

Regardless of how you responded to those three questions a good place to start in answering them is Google Analytics. Data drives strategy and Google Analytics provides a LOT of data about your site.

Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to your website. Google Analytics is aimed at marketers; it shows high-level, dashboard-style data for the casual user, and more in-depth data further in the report. Through the use of Google Analytics, poor performing pages can be identified, as well as referring sites (where visitors came from), and time on site (how long they stayed and their location).

Consider what Out of Door Academy in Florida does according to Shannon Drosky, Director of Communications, "We examine the Google Analytics on our website annually. However, certain sections, such as Admissions, we evaluate more often to make sure that the content offered is what people want to see. We often delete pages as a result of this analysis."

finalsite users have access to Google Analytics under the Site Manager - Site Administration tab. Here is a brief tutorial on Google Analytics:

It is important to have a web strategy that includes mobile and social media, and Google Analytics can help you refine or create that strategy. As always, if you want to talk web strategy with someone at finalsite just ask...we like to help.

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Data From the Heart

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:04:54 EST

This week's holiday was about love, sharing, and showing affection to your loved one(s) so they feel they are very important to you.

Or... it is all about greeting card sales? According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are sent each year. That makes money on this holiday.

In a related topic, I facilitated a session on friendraising to fundraising in web strategy last week in San Francisco at the CASE/NAIS conference. In this session we talked about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, eNotify (email blasts), Raiser's Edge, etc. My one point to the group was it was not about the medium, it was about the data and personalizing the ask. In this day and age of facebook, do you really OWN YOUR OWN ALUMNI data?

That is a tough question to ask when you need to send out an email campaign or send the latest annual report or homecoming invitation. Data rules our decision-making process these days, so as you reflect on this past Valentine's Day, ask yourself about the ones we value personally and professionally; do we know where they are and how to send them a greeting card, email, text, phone call? Do you own the data? Can you leverage the data in this web world to foster better relationships with them, make an informed solicitation of a gift, send them an update of the football championship, etc.?

It's all about the data and about sharing great personal messages with your alumni, parents, students, faculty, and community members.

Rob Dimartino

Director, Business Development

Speedy Solutions for International Schools

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:26:43 EST

In my continued effort as President of finalsite to enhance the delivery speed of your website, I'm excited to announce a significant upgrade to our content delivery network (CDN). We've now partnered with Akamai Technologies, and selected content on your site will soon be taking advantage of their industry-leading global network.

Akamai's EdgePlatform is one of the world's largest distributed computing platforms. Our 100 + schools outside the US will experience a significant increase in speed over the next six months. It is a network of more than 95,000 secure servers equipped with proprietary software and deployed in 71 countries that relies on applied mathematics and algorithms to help solve congestion and vulnerability problems on the Internet. These servers reside within approximately 1,900 of the world's networks monitoring the Internet in real time - gathering information about traffic, congestion, and trouble spots. Akamai uses this intelligence to optimize routes and replicate data dynamically to deliver content and applications more quickly, reliably, and securely. Major customers like Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and the U.S. military entrust their content delivery to Akamai and now finalsite.

Akamai's route optimization technology improves the performance and reliability of dynamic applications and content delivered over the Internet. Akamai leverages several other techniques to improve application performance over the Internet, such as connection and protocol optimizations, caching, compression and prefetching.

Akamai's network performance comparison

The Akamai Network Operations Command Center (NOCC) enables proactive monitoring and troubleshooting of all servers in the global Akamai network, and the NOCC has the industry's best view of the real-time condition of the Internet. The NOCC's proactive stance and unique view ensures a seamless response to network conditions – enabling Akamai to deliver rich media content and applications, regardless of network traffic volume.

Akamai's global Internet monitor

At finalsite, we plan to begin serving system-level files and public media player content via the Akamai network within the next few weeks. Our metrics indicate that users throughout the world should see a significant improvement for those components, especially locations throughout Asia. In addition, we'll be adding more content to the new CDN in coming months to enhance deliverability of private media content, portal/group space resources and other private files as we continue to optimize the experience for your global audience.

Please connect on Linkedin and give me feedback.

Thanks.

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Listen Up! Mobile Newscasts from Ravenscroft

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:10:20 EST

Worried that your parents (and others) are missing out on important news? Why not consider uploading mobile newscasts like those from Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jason Ramsden, Ravenscroft's Chief Technology Officer, fills us in on this innovative and easy-to-implement communications method:

What is the history of the podcast-based announcements?

The podcast-based announcements are copies of the weekly announcements we run on our campus radio station. We started the campus radio station last spring to provide an alternative medium to the weekly calendar announcements we push out via eNotify each Friday so parents can hear them during car pool. To continue to find additional ways to reach our parent body we started to upload those weekly announcements to the mobile website so parents can get weekly announcements via email, our radio station, or podcasts found on our mobile website.

Who is responsible for creating the week's podcasts and what's the process?

I am the voice of Ravens Radio. I take the information found in each Friday's weekly calendar email and re-write the content for easy listening on both the radio station and as uploaded podcasts to the mobile website. The total time to create each week's podcasts takes about an hour to re-write the weekly calendar email and record the various messages.

What has been the response by parents and others so far (who's the main audience)?

We are currently running an information campaign to let folks know that we've added the announcement section to the mobile website. However, those that have heard it appreciate they can easily find the announcements each week on the mobile site as opposed to searching their email to find the weekly calendar.

What tips would you have for other finalsite schools interesting in putting podcasted announcements up on their mobile sites?

Since we are not creating new content but rather taking existing content and just re-mixing it we would say to keep it simple. There is no need to make extra work for yourself at the start, but rather share current information in another medium. Once you get comfortable with the format, you can always work to include additional features that might not appear elsewhere on your site.

Let us spotlight your school! Share your finalsite story of success with our team and you may be featured in an upcoming blog and/or newsletter post. We'd love to hear from you.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

When Seconds Matter: User Experience

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:09:59 EST

In the world of Internet browsing, even milliseconds can have an affect on how you're perceived. That is one reason why user empathy and user experience design is so important—what relevant information can you relay to your user in as little time as possible regardless of the type of device or user?

User experience is multi-facted, so let's explore one scenario: initial discovery and the role of your homepage. User experience begins here—even before a user gets to your site, in fact. In this example, a prospective parent may be using a search engine, such as Google, to search certain keywords or phrases in hopes of finding a new school (think: private school, some location). Ideally, your website would appear closer to the top of the search based on how well you've optimized your site for certain keywords and keyphrases. Here is where this user will discover your website for the first time. With the click of a mouse (and with optimal site speed), a wealth of information should be presented in a highly functional website that delivers the right message to the right person at the right time, but you only have a few seconds to convince the user that it is all there. How is your user making this judgment? Ask yourself if they can perform the following from your homepage:

View your website from multiple devices (think mobile)
Clearly see what type of school you are (do you prominately demonstrate that you are a private, Catholic, Jewish, day, boarding, IB, boys, girls... school?)
Understand the grades you serve ("serving grades X-X")
Are in the appropriate geographical location (where can the user see your address right away?)
Get a sense on the quality of your programs (use authentic photos to show your students and faculty in action)

If the user's initial needs are met, then they will proceed. It is then your task to continue to fulfill those expectations while serving your own needs. This is the never-ending and often changing process of being a web admin. My suggestion to you is to strategize, keep pace with web trends, and choose web tools, like finalsite, that are forward-thinking and will make managing your website easier.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Now You Can Edit from an iPad (and iPhone!)

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:13 EST

By next year, yes next year, 2013, mobile devices will over take desktop computers as the primary way to access the web according to Gartners. The mobile phenomenon is not going away... it's getting bigger.

Recent finalsite blog posts have highlighted how schools have responded to this change and are developing dynamic, exciting mobile sites for their users. But what about the administrators? What about the Director of Communications who wants to edit web content, or announce a snow day while in the waiting room at the doctor's office? Good news now you can!

Our latest software update addresses a request we've received from a number of users: administrators can login to finalsite on an iPad! The device must be running iOS 5, the latest version of the iPad/iPod/iPhone operating system. This means you must have an iPhone 3GS (or newer), or iPod Touch 3rd generation (or newer). All iPads can use iOS 5 and are compatible.

We hope that you are as excited about this as we are. What doors will this open for you?

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Simplify. Communicate. Engage.

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:42:54 EST

Three simple words. We chose these words over ten years ago to help define what we truly do for schools that partner with us.

I get asked often in my travels and personal life, "What do you do?"

This has come up at Career Day at my children's school, at dinner parties, at conferences and more.

What I say: I work for a company called finalsite. We partner up with schools to use our software to maximize the Internet experience for their constituents and build and foster better communicaitons and relationships in the online space from the front-end web design to sophisticated back-end personalized portals for everything from teaching and learning sites to athletics to alumni reunions, blah, blah, blah.

What people hear: You design websites or what my kids say "Daddy works with computers for schools."

I have said it is the lightbulb moment when people truly grasp what we can do and are doing for school strategy, communications, infrastructure and teaching and learning goals. You can tell when a person truly understands the power of the Internet and how to harness that power and use it for the most exceptional form of good for your school. So many stories to share, so many lives to touch, so many people to educate. The web is our friend, an everchanging friend, but it is so powerful when a school looks at it from a strategic communications view.

What we should say is that we partner for schools for the future. No matter how we say it or who asks we are in an everchanging environment that continues to push the envelope, challenge past reasoning, and create personalized learning communications to all our constitutents. In doing so, we must stay true to who we are. A partner for the future.

Going back to our first piece of marketing, our company and our team is here to help you as schools: SIMPLIFY the way you share information, COMMUNICATE the core messages to your different constituents in the way the user wants to experience it, and ENGAGE your audience with realtime trusted information that adds value to their lives.

If you want to hear the elevator pitch or even a full blown demo, contact one of our sales team today

Rob Dimartino

Director, Business Development

Donate and Inquire With a Mobile Device: Christ School's Story

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:02:55 EST

When you think of websites on a mobile device, think tasks over content. What do your users want to do on your site? When Christ School in Asheville, North Carolina, considered this question, they determined that mobile users wanted the ability to inquire about admissions and to make online donations. Thanks to finalsite's Forms Manager the school was able to achieve both of these goals, and has seen increased traffic to its site from these forms.

Daniel McCauley, Christ School's Director of Technology, and Christina Auch, the school's Director of Annual Fund and Special Gifts, partnered to design and create both the online inquiry and the online donation forms. They wanted to ensure that all mobile constituents had the right information and resources at the moment they were needed.

Website traffic has increased, particularly on weekends, with the additional functionality of the mobile pages. As Daniel notes, "Trends show that constituents seek out information when there is an on-campus event or special occurrence in our community, so it is very important for us to have relevant/dynamic content available to mobile users during those times."

Why not add similar pages to your school's mobile site? The Christ School team offers the following suggestions for using forms with mobile users:

A. Keep your forms simple and narrow.

B. Do not forget that this information will be viewed on a mobile device.
(i.e., know current device limitations)

C. Pay attention to the information that the users want.

D. Find creative ways to promote your mobile pages.
(i.e. QR Codes, promote during class registrations, etc.)

-------------

Let us spotlight your school! Share your finalsite story of success with our team and you may be featured in an upcoming blog and/or newsletter post. We'd love to hear from you.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

The Mobile Philanthropic Channel

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:22:14 EST

"Modern charities have to have a digital footprint....Allowing donors to give through multiple platforms is a way to recruit them for the long run." – Patrick Rooney, Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University

I was just on a panel at the Advancement Alliance at the Saint Mark's School in Massachusetts. One of the topics we talked about was giving. How advancement offices in schools receive and process donations is rapidly changing, especially when you add in the mobile revolution. As the above quote suggests, it's really about connecting with users in a variety of ways.

For example:

Advancement office staff members are using products like Square to take credit card donations at alumni or fund-raising events.
Schools like the Christ School are taking donations right through their mobile sites using finalsite's Forms Manager. See our "Best Practices" section later in this newsletter for details on this.

Schools can add development videos similar to those from LaSalle College High School to their mobile websites.

Advancement staff can send out postcards highlighting giving options with smart links and QR Codes that link directly to the online giving form.
Schools are ensuring that an auto-response is sent each time someone gives online, especially via the mobile site.

To me, we've just begun to scratch the surface on the possibilities here. Near-field communication, print-to-pixels marketing campaigns, the list goes on.

How is your advancement office responding to these rapid changes?

Jon Moser

President & Founder

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html

Catch the Break the Brick Fever!

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:54:27 EST

The videos are coming in fast and furious. Have you had a chance to take a look? finalsite's Break the Brick video contest is a chance for our community to come together and celebrate the creative streak within our schools.

How can you participate?

Submit a video before midnight EST on Monday, December 19, 2011
Vote for your favorite video(s) from now until Thursday, January 12, 2012
Comment on any video and share supportive thoughts for all those hard-working students, faculty, staff, and others who made this year's videos possible!

Winners will be announce by Monday, January 16, 2012. Go to finalsite.com/chocolate to learn more.

P.S. Break the Brick is just another example of online collaboration using video. We'd love to hear from you if your school has some similar examples of collaborations you'd like to share. We're all ears!

Peeking Behind the Password: Holton-Arms and Academics Manager

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:34:07 EST

One challenge when building a web community is the lack of peer school examples open to public view. Recently, Holton-Arms' Liz Gouldman shared some thoughts and screenshots of faculty usage of finalsite's Group Spaces and Academics Manager. Take a peek behind the password with us and find out how these tools are benefiting teaching and learning at this Bethesda, Maryland school.

How are teachers fully utilizing Group Spaces and Academics Manager?

We are really trying to take advantage of the Group Spaces to work collaboratively and, in many cases, challenge the traditional boundaries of the classroom, taking advantage of the virtual environment to pursue more blended learning and flipping the classroom. This is actually part of a new strategic plan just in the early phase but will certainly become more and more important to the school culture here.

Faculty are asked to at a minimum all provide a course overview on their page and provide class resources such as the syllabus, assignments and unit-by-unit or month-by-month resources. We have also seen faculty use the calendar, discussion board, drop box, quiz module and of course they communicate with students and parents from the members tab. Because we are integrated with Veracross, each course page is linked to daily attendance and the grade book.

How have students and parents reacted to this emphasis on online teaching and learning tools?

Overall the reaction has been positive. For students it is a natural progression as much of their social life (thinking grade 7 and up) is already online. We always have a few parents nervous about the how to keep students safe online. We have parent meetings and bring in speakers to help educate families. We also have a digital citizenship curriculum for middle school students as part of health and advisory.

How did Holton-Arms go about training all constituents on the usage of Portals and Group Spaces?

We work with students and families when they come for tablet orientation and we also provide video tutorials in the portal. I also try to get time during new parent and lower school orientation to introduce parents to the website including the portal and class pages.

What are some tips that you have for schools looking to expand their usage of Portals and Group Spaces?

Keep it simple [and] provide a framework or template for teachers with the minimum expectations (what is on the page, how often to update etc.).

We also have found that getting faculty involved in their own group spaces helps those who may be uncomfortable or still trying to figure how to go beyond minimum expectations. We used group spaces to facilitate discussion about summer reading and to follow-up on the NAIS conference that all faculty attended last year. Now we also have PLC group spaces.
-------------------------

What are you doing that's innovative, well-received, or just plain fun with your web presence? Share with us today so we can let your colleagues know!

Beyond The Year of Mobile

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:15:02 EST

There's no need to declare this "the year of mobile." If anything, last year was the year of mobile in terms of the growth in both mobile usage and the availability of mobile sites and apps. Now, however, it's time to redesign your mobile site, because your existing version is probably far below users' growing expectations for user experience quality.

Put yourself in your constituent's shoes. Perhaps you're a prospective parent, looking for admission info. Perhaps you're a current parent trying to remember when your daughter's next soccer game is. Perhaps you're an alumnus trying to reconnect with a beloved faculty member. And, in all these instances, you're on-the-go and on your mobile device: iPhone, Android, etc. If you're one of these users, ask yourself if your school's website will meet your needs quickly and elegantly in this situation.

Mobile usability is key these days for web success. Researchers like Jakob Nielsen are taking a look at how we view and use the web differently on mobile devices than on laptops and desktops (wired devices). As a result of his research, Nielsen recommends:

Designing for finger-swiping such as finalsite's mobile version does. You want to ensure that anything you're asking a user to touch, click or swipe is not too small to access.
Limiting features to those of most relevance. Again, finalsite's mobile version singles out those features that on-the-go users will most likely be looking for – news, athletics, media, directories, forms, and content.
Offering apps to supplement the mobile site. finalsite's soon-to-be released App will offer enhanced functionality and a user-friendly experience.

Looking for examples of mobile sites in action?

Consider the following:

Christ School - Mobile inquiry page
Christ School - Mobile giving page
Lawrence Academy - Mobile directory page
Sacred Heart Schools, Chicago – Mobile media page

What are you doing to mobilize your web presence? Let us know how finalsite can help.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

Thanks

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:46:19 EST

Since this is the time of year when we take stock and give thanks for what we have, I decided to tell you straight-up what makes me thankful when browsing a website and tips to get people to be thankful for yours too. Here are the five things in a website that make me grateful:

When it only takes me only a glance at the homepage to determine if this is the type of site I'm looking for or not.
Tip: Use images or text that demonstrate the profile of your school, i.e., gender, grade level, etc..
When it takes me less than three clicks to find the response to my question (or at least a connection to a human should three clicks of the mouse fail to yield an answer).
Tip: Use inquiry forms, prominently display contact info, or even consider embedding live chats.
A website that is fresh. My eyes dart for the "x" on the browser tab when the content isn't as fresh as the produce in the fridge.
Tip: Distribute tasks and have a plan for how often and which content should be updated.
A website that shares the glory. I would go see a one-man show if I wanted and endless monologue. Show me what others are saying that's so great. Or aren't they?
Tip: Use quotations, images, video, and content generated by your community that elevate your web presence from boring to interesting and display the character of the school.
A website that lets me receive the content in my preferred fashion, whether it is on a particular device (fyi the iPhone is on my "I can't live without list") or using a particular method, such as RSS feeds, email alerts, or SMS texts messages. My day is filled with countless things and sometimes I need the content delivered to me even right into the palm of my hand.
Tip: Optimize your website for mobile browsing and make sure your constituents are aware that they can subscribe to content found in your Calendars, News, Athletics, Blogs, Forums, etc..

So, here is my tribute to the innovative and useful website that recognizes what an end-user needs and keeps them actively engaged. And no matter how hasty and sarcastic I want to be, I just can't fail to mention how thankful I am to be a part of the finalsite family. Ok, ok, I couldn't resist! You see, we all have a seat at the same table as a client and as an employee. Among the many things that make me thankful are that we know each other by name, each have a voice on enhancements, and get to meet face-to-face at what I like to think of as our annual family reunion, finalsiteU. Please feel free to share your thoughts and what you're thankful for-- from heart wrenching to funny.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:27:04 EST

Twitter started in 2006, the same year I accepted a job in admissions at an all boys Catholic high school. Twitter quickly became popular but I, like many people, thought it was where celebrities talked about what they ate for lunch; after attending a conference in 2008 I quickly realized Twitter could be much more. I connected with people who shared the same unique job and discovered a twenty four hours a day, seven days a week professional learning network. I was (am) exposed to articles, blogs, and thoughts from people in my field, and was connected to these independent school professionals who were all only a few keystrokes away. I was quickly addicted. More importantly I had more ideas for work, and people to bounce these ideas off (I was a department of two at the time.)

About a year ago I discovered this TED talk from Steven Johnson, "Where good ideas come from."

I couldn't help but think about connecting ideas on my way home from Boston after my first finalsite web tech event, a good event for schools whether they are finalsite partners or not. We describe the day as containing, "workshops filled with best practices, strategies, networking opportunities, and more." It was the "networking opportunities" that I found most interesting: watching schools connect with each other and talk about how they are using our software. While discussing the use of dynamic lists in eNotify during lunch may not sound exciting it is always comforting to talk to someone who uses the same tools as you and faces the same challenges in the same type of environment.

So take a lesson from Steven Johnson and remember that an innovative mind is a connected mind, and come out to one of our web tech events and connect with other independent school people on Twitter using hashtags like #edchat or #edtech and connect with other people using the finalsite software on twitter using hashtags like @finalsite or #finalsite and start connecting ideas!

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Ding Dong the Webmaster is Dead.

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:41:56 EST

I recently came back from the ERB Conference in NYC talking with admissions directors and having my ten-year-old daughter in tow. We had a chance to talk web with about 100 admissions professionals, get some nice food, and see the Broadway show, "Wicked".

That experience led me to where we are today in our new media strategies for independent schools and business in general. The term "webmaster" or "web mistress" (i.e. one central web guru) is overused in today's day and age of CMS and granular workflow rights.

I talk with numerous finalsite schools and others schools around the globe on creating a "mindset for the future of content creation, sharing, and consumption" while building a process internally that provides efficiencies and sustainability along the way. In other words, we MUST build our web with our COMMUNITY in order for it to simplify the way we edit content (text, photos, videos, podcasts, etc.) and empower our key people in our institutions (communications directors, athletic directors, advancement professionals, headmasters, teachers, you get the picture), and engage our core constituents.

Follow the yellow brick road to your new media strategy but realize it will take a lot more than The Great and Powerful Oz to execute a successful, long term web strategy for the future (content, integrations, mobile, social media).

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

To download the latest prezi on New Media Strategies for Independent Schools, click below.

Rob Dimartino

Director, Business Development

Print Publication

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:14:38 EST

Let's take a look at print publication design, perhaps the avenue where the most change is needed.

When a school prints a viewbook much of the information can become dated by the time the book comes back from the printing press. Let's start over.

We really need to start connecting print publication design to the web. So here is my pitch:

Print a beautiful folder with a sleeve in the back and the front with five pages of engaging, visually exciting and timeless content about the school.

Now ask for information so you personalize the next print piece: When a parent or student fills out an inquiry form (in print or online) try to retrieve his or her interest areas. Example: I like soccer and drama.

Next, print a personalized letter to put in the admission folder with active QR codes pointing directly to corresponding relative content on the website and/or supply a direct URL in the printed piece.

These three steps ensure that your print publications stay current while still delivering relevant information. Now, if the head of school leaves, the folder and links to personalized content are still usable without a costly reprint. Bridging the gap between print and digital media in this way will benefit the school's enrollment, recruitment, and bottom line.

So, to conclude our design strategy discussion, the order of design really needs to change. It is very important that we start looking at design differently. We need to start with the mobile web first and truly start thinking about functional design. Then we need to look at our full browser web design. Let's keep in mind the Flash limitation of iOS devices and the push towards HTML5 and tablets. Also, we need to consider touch devices when building out full browser designs. Last, let's connect our print media up to the web so we can control the personalized messages with video and many other engaging content sources.

If you're interested in talking more about this topic, please connect with me on Linkedin.

Thanks for your support.

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Rediscover Writing (for the Web)

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:21:32 EST

I admit it; it pains me to write this. I am a language-lover at heart and swoon over poetry strewn with words in excess that take a blank piece of paper and turn it into art. Unfortunately, we're talking about your school's website and writing for the web.

Remember William Strunk, Jr., author of The Elements of Style? Well, I think what he said in 1918 is relevant to today's marketing sites: "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."

When writing for the web, the following is likely to attract the reader more so than verbose abstract prose:

Concise and familiar language
Bulleted or numbered lists
Affirmative statements (rather than, "Don't forget to...", say, "Remember to...")
Usage of headings and subheadings
Shaping content in the "F" pattern
Factual rather than abstract language (i.e. "95% of our graduating class go on to four-year universities.")

Overall, it is about understanding your audience and how reading behaviors change online. The user is eager to gather lots of information in very little time. To facilitate this process, he/she will scan your pages rather than mull over all the content, pick out the first couple words in a list, and disassemble your paragraphs as they pluck select words and phrases from the first and last sentences. Make sure to follow the tips above to satisfy this impatient, yet curious, end-user.

Bethany Silvestri

Marketing & Sales Executive

On the Road Again...

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:47:44 EST

Exciting times are ahead for the finalsite team as we embark on another year of adventures across the globe. Whether you will be joining us for our regional Web Tech Events (hosted by finalsite clients around the globe), attending webinars and trainings virtually, or making plans for this summer's finalsiteU (June 19 - 21, 2012 at Avon Old Farms, Avon, CT), our goal is simple: to connect with you.

Everyday we are reminded that we are in a digitized world that moves at a frantic pace but we like to take the time to come visit your areas to:

Thank you for your continued trust in finalsite as a partner
Teach you to leverage finalsite to the fullest
Provide a medium for connections in the physical environment that can then build into the digital environment
Listen and learn from our schools. Trouble or praise...we like to hear it all so the ambassadors visiting campus can then share with the entire team.

Our road schedule starts next week in Jacksonville, Florida and Washington D.C. area and will continue on to San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Arlington (TX), Philadelphia, and Boston. It continues with webinars and virtual Bootcamps and end up with the grand finale to end the year: finalsiteU.

I hope you can take an hour (webinar), a day (web tech event) or three days (finalsiteU) to join us this year in making your finalsite site the best it can be for your school.

Hope to see you on the road.

Our Road Warriors are:

Rob Dimartino

Director, Business Development

Social Media, Your School and You

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:42:41 EST

I'm getting ready for my presentation at ECIS in Lisbon, Portugal on November 17, 2011. The topic this year is around Facebook, Twitter, and other social elements that are changing how schools market and educators connect. I'll be sharing the latest on the social media movement in this fast-paced discussion. From how schools market with social media to how educators network with social media to how the rules of etiquette are changing with this new medium, you're sure to find information that you need to move forward with social media as schools and as professionals.

If you're interested in this topic please join us now and during the event at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Social-Media-Web-Trends-2012-4095515

I hope to see you in Lisbon.

Thanks,

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Streamline Info Requests Today: St. Anne's-Belfield's Story

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:12:53 EST

When your constituents can't find what they need on your website, it's likely that they'll contact you. St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville, VA came up with a unique Contact Us form that quickly funnels information requests to the right office, increasing response time and decreasing the workload for the website's point person. Luke Anderson, St. Anne's-Belfield's Director of Communications, explains:

Why did you decide to combine the admission/employment/development/general forms into one form?

In the past, many individuals would use the Contact Us form as a quick means of getting in touch with the school, and all of the forms would automatically be sent to me. This means that I was receiving roughly 10 forms a day, and each one would need to be forwarded to a different school office.

The new form [utilizing conditional settings with finalsite's Forms Manager] was meant to streamline the process, so that visitors to the site could find direct contact information for whatever they were trying to accomplish. It serves to give folks a "next step" if they are unsure who they are trying to reach.

Who did the form creation on this?

[The form creation] was done entirely by me (Dir. of Communications). It stemmed from a selfish desire to reduce the email volume I was receiving, but also gives people good information based on what they are trying to do. By asking that initial question (Why are you contacting us today?) we help them drill down whom they need to contact. It took about 15 minutes from concept to completion.

What has been the response by your constituents so far?

We have received 23 submissions on the "general" form in two months. We used to average 200+/month. I consider this a great statistic - folks are using the form, and contacting the appropriate office with the information they seek.

Any tips to share for other schools interested in replicating this idea?

Any time you can automate the flow of information from the school to its constituents based on individual preference, you are going to make your own life simpler while removing road blocks for visitors to the site. We provide simple answers to the "Who do I need to call?" question in a visible place that web users are used to seeing (Contact Us).

What's new on your school's website? Share with us and we'll share with others!

How your Admissions office can use QR Codes

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:20:28 EST

Recently some of my Twitter friends posted blogs and comments knocking QR codes. I am here to come to their defense; these codes have become divisive. People love them or hate them. There seems to be no in-between.

Prior to coming to finalsite I worked in admissions for fifteen years. My interest in QR codes stems from the value I feel they could bring to marketing.

This time of year admissions professionals all over the country are packing bags full of heavy printed materials and trekking from school fair to school fair and classroom to classroom with over-stuffed bags filled with lengthy static materials slung over their shoulders. In a time when we see pages converting to pixels this seems outdated. How different is this process from fifteen or twenty years ago?

How about printing a one page fact sheet with some high quality photos, fast facts, and a QR code that links to a landing page or a video? Think of how much money you could save on printing costs.

Other ideas for QR codes:

Post on campus buildings for campus tours
Use for open house sign-up
Add to business cards
Link to social media
Offer a coupon to the bookstore

This could help shape the perception that your school is tech-forward, creative, and cutting-edge. It makes you different from your competitors and engages prospective families.

If you want to discuss QR Codes or start using them let us know. We are happy to help...or, for more information, you could scan the code on the right...

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

What Does an Orange Juice Carton and Your School Website Have in Common?

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:50:26 EST

My father owned an orange juice packaging and distribution business through the 80s and 90s. They sold orange juice and other products all over the United States and Canada. It was very interesting to watch the company grow and the changes that took place along the way.

One of the memories I have was the time when they put the same orange juice in two different looking cartons. The people taking the tests didn't know the cartons contained the same orange juice but were told by the marketing team to pick the best tasting juice. I do not have all the stats but the carton that had a better design/image won the taste test. Hmm...does image matter?

Does image make a difference in the decision-making process when potential students or parents are picking a school? So let's say a parent is looking at two competing schools and is having a tough time deciding which school to pick. They first pull out their iPhone and take a look then later look on their desktop. One school just has a better image and also has a functioning mobile site.

Does image matter? Are your parents drinking Tropicana or Minute Maid? Is it time to look at the image your site portrays to prospective parents?

Jon Moser

President & Founder

Social Media, What's Your Goal?

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:05:16 EST

It's just so easy-to-use and it's free; that can be the trouble with social media. Sometimes, we upload random content – photos, videos, copy – with no rhyme or reason behind what we are doing. It's just too easy...

Success starts with a social media plan, a plan with simple goals like:

recruitment
retention
fund-raising
alumni relations

Take one of these then consider any internal, strategic goals the school has to create very specific goals to use when posting content. Something like, "Increase retention from middle to high school" or "Increase alumni participation in Alumni Weekend." Now you have a reason to post those high school Homecoming photos and last year's slideshow from Alumni Weekend! Goals give you a purpose and a sense of accomplishment, transforming your social media from reactive (I'm posting because I'm expected to) to proactive (I'm posting to share content for a reason).

And don't forget a call to action: what we want them to do after they've engaged with our content. This is where we often direct users back to our school websites to:

Don't let a user's enthusiasm go to waste: encourage him or her to act in some way after engaging with your post, tweet, upload, etc.

How are you using calls to action and social media goals at your school? Let us know.

Lorrie Jackson

Communications Manager

Think Outside the Box: Lower Canada's TV Page

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:45:41 EST

When trying to engage your online audience, why not think out of the box? That's what Lower Canada College in Montreal, Canada did with its LCC TV page. Staff took a finalsite's Portal page combined with the Multimedia Manager module and spent time envisioning the final product, customizing the layout, and paying attention to the details. The end result? A uniquely LCC experience. Here's what Adam Rayf, Mac/Communications/Web Specialist at LCC, says about the project:

How long have you had a broadcasting program at LCC?

LCC TV has been live since January 2011.

The concept of "LCC TV" is part of a larger strategy to showcase the very best student work coming out of our school and to promote the incredible resources here at LCC. The concept of LCC TV centres around a monthly student newscast (overseen by our media lab team and lead by students).

In addition to the newscast, we also post top-notch student work and stream live events such as sports events and plays, updating the site on a regular basis. Content is not only posted to our website on the LCC TV page, but to YouTube as well as a digital signage system within our school.

What prompted you to develop the LCC TV page?

While we knew that it was both necessary and effective (in terms of exposure) to post work to YouTube for the world to see, we felt that it was important to use that as a catalyst to drive people back to the Lower Canada College site. We also wanted to let our students work speak for itself, rather than "telling" people how great our school is.

Who was involved in the design/layout of the page? (did you have student input?)

The LCC TV concept (newscast, website, YouTube, digital signage) was a join venture [among] myself (Mac/Communications/Web specialist), Alec Mathewson (runs the media lab and is a professional videographer/editor) and Danny Lutz (media lab assistant and professional musician and audio engineer) and Seth Jernigan (media literacy teacher).

I should really point out that thanks to the highly autonomous and forward-thinking environment at LCC, we were basically allowed to run wild with this project... each of us using our talents and abilities to make each element happen. Very cool!

I was solely responsible though, for the design and layout of the page. It was a really great challenge to push the boundaries of finalsite's Portal pages and see what I could come up with... i was pretty pleased with the results!!!

Who updates this page?

The page is updated by myself, the content is approved by Alec.

Sidenote: the submission process is highly automated. Students/teachers can submit work [online]. Uploaded files are automatically converted into a standard format, and dropped into a "pending approval" folder. Once approved, a video runs through an automated process that creates a version for the LCC TV site (watermark at bottom corner, less than 300 mb and .mov), one for YouTube (adds an additional into to promote LCC TV site) and a version for our digital signage system (that get's automatically uploaded).

What are your future plans for this page?

Feedback from students/staff and administration has been very positive. In the new year we hope to continue to encourage and enlist student to get involved in the LCC TV newscast as well as submission of their individual or group work which is the main thing (we have not received a steady-stream of content).

What tips do you have for other schools planning to use Portal Pages and Multimedia Manager in a similar way?

My best advice when creating a new page or site (yet having to work within a technical framework) is to

Begin with a clear, uncompromising vision of what you want, both in terms of design and technicality. Of course there will be compromise but attacking it with a clear focus will drive you (and finalsite's team) to push the boundaries and come up with innovative solutions, like I did with finalsite.
Take the time to get it right. It takes a lot of time to figure out how to make a framework, work for you, but it's worth it. Spend time on the details: colour, shading etc.

What are you doing with your school website that's out-of-the-box? We'd love to know!

Going Mobile

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:51:07 EST

If the current trends continue mobile Internet usage will take over desktop usage very soon. What does this mean for your school? It means that current and prospective families and alumni have searched for information about your school on their smart phone; their ability and interest in doing so will only increase. According to a study by Microsoft Tag published in an Infographic by Mashable, the most active group in mobile socialization is women ages 35 - 54, a target market for any school.

The "phones" are getting more sophisticated with more capability. Will you be ready? Consider what your constituents would want when accessing your site from a smart phone.

Christ School in North Carolina is a great example of doing a mobile site right. Their mobile site is easy to navigate with the basic information someone would want on-the-go. They also included three often overlooked elements:

1) Fill out a brief form to inquire about admissions

2) Make a gift to the annual fund

3) Connect via social media buttons

How does your schools site look on a mobile phone? If you need help let us know.

Tim McDonough

Client Success Manager

Connect Students With Blogs: San Domenico's Story

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:24:45 EST

Many schools have summer reading lists. The challenge can be how to keep interest high throughout this time period. One solution: reading blogs. San Domenico School in San Anselmo, California has found long-term success with reading blogs in the Middle School, with active participation and authentic discussion.

Language arts faculty, the Middle School Division Head, and the Library Director work with the Web Editor each summer to establish the blogs. The goal according to Scott Fletcher, San Domenico's Library Director: "to give students a chance to stay connected during the summer with an exciting way for them to discuss their reading projects." Students have clear guidelines to adhere to and the blog is moderated. 

This year, students are encouraged to voluntarily post rather than getting credit for each post or discussion. The result? So far, there have been 1,000 views and over 100 comments, the same as when credit was given. Says Fletcher, "The comments have been longer and more insightful, rather than casual responses that were given when they 'had to' respond."  

Plans are underway to add a social media component in the future, perhaps a closed Facebook group similar to one which supplements the "From the Bay to the Balkans" blog at San Domenico and contains student-created links, photos, and comments.  

Having finalsite's Blogs and Forums feature as integral to the website, rather than using a third party blog provider has been key so that students do not have to leave the website to contribute. Notes Fletcher, "The finalsite Blogs & Forums has been a useful tool to encourage online discussion about books and has put San Domenico School ahead of the curve in relation to most schools' summer reading programs."

Interested in a similar project at your school? Fletcher suggests, "Think about what would be best for your school, and set guidelines for students before they start posting. Most importantly, just get started—create it and they will blog!"  

Online Auctions Using Forums: Saint Andrew's Story

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:46:47 EST

Looking for a way to generate a little revenue, improve morale, and have fun in the process? Why not try an internal auction using finalsite's Blogs and Forums feature? Saint Andrew's School in Boca Raton, Florida shares its creative solution for leftover auction items using finalsite's Forums below:

What is the faculty/staff online auction and what has participation been like in the past?

We have had the faculty/staff online auction for two years now and it has been a hit with our school employees. The faculty/staff auction is held each spring after the school's main parent auction. This way we can take advantage of all the items that were left over from the main parent auction. Many times, the auction items from the parent auction have expiration dates so the faculty/staff auction is a great way for us to bring in some extra fundraising dollars with items that are going to expire anyway. Many of the faculty and staff participate and if there is a "hot item" on the list, things can heat up in the bidding process. One item this year, a complimentary hotel stay, had 98 views and several bids.

Why did you choose to use finalsite's discussion forum feature?

The great thing about the forum feature in the finalsite CMS is that it provides a way to host an online auction in a password protected, controlled environment. This year we posted around 10 items, some with photos, and many ended up being bid on. The great thing about this entire thing is that it didn't cost us anything extra out of pocket.

How are faculty/staff using this feature to successfully participate?

The bidding process begins via an email be sent out internally to kick things off. At that point, employees can login to the faculty/staff portal to view and bid on any interested items. Our auction coordinator sets the value of each item including increments and minimum bids. Employee bids are captured chronologically with a time stamp and bidding process continues for a couple days so everyone gets a chance to bid. Once the auction closes, we look at the final bids and email each winner so we can hand over the item and collect the money.

What has feedback been like?

The faculty and staff have been excited to participate because many times the times go for a great low price. The bidding process can get competitive in a healthy way since it is not anonymous (login names are displayed on each bid). Our Development Office loves it because we can raise money in an easy way that's fun for everyone and is resourceful in nature.

What are future plans?

We are considering using the forum for an online auction for parents and alumni to be held before the main auction next year. But it's still up in the air. Of course, we will also consider hosting the faculty/staff online auction again if we have items left over from the main parent auction.

What are any tips you have for other schools that may want to do something similar?

Have fun with this! Not only can a school raise an additional amount of money for an Annual Fund but also is a great morale booster! Just make sure you define the rules straight from the start and include easy-to-follow item descriptions, values, minimum bids, and increment information.

The Offline Connection to Social Media

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:27:16 EST

Remember a few years ago when you first started seeing URLs in advertisements and in print? At first it seemed striking but now it's the norm. We expect to see a connection to your website presence from your print and other marketing presences (such as TV ads).

Thus, you may also want to consider connecting your print to pixels for social media as well. Include your facebook URL, Twitter ID, YouTube or Vimeo channel on:

Your email signature line (and those of your colleagues).
Admission postcards and other print materials
Alumni print materials.
Business cards. (If these have been pre-printed already, consider using a file label on the back to add this information in later.)
Television and print advertisements
And where else?

And while we're at it, don't also forget the power of the Facebook Username. Once your page reaches 25 likes, you can assign a username such as www.facebook.com/ABCacademy which is much easier to remember than the long list of numbers and letters automatically generated by Facebook.

What tips do you have to share to help get the message of your social media presence out to your community?

	LorrieJ
	Lorrie Jackson

Twitter Overview 2011

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:49:37 EST

With 125% increase from year to year in Twitter usage, this makes these stats and services worth looking at. Is your school taking advantage of this information?

Overview

13% of online adults use the status update service Twitter, which represents a significant increase from the 8% of online adults who identified themselves as Twitter users in November 2010. 95% of Twitter users own a mobile phone, and half of these users access the service on their handheld device.

Jon Moser