Friday, September 5, 2008

Join LinkedIn and connect with other communicators!


LinkedIn is like the grown-up MySpace or Facebook, only very, very driven towards networking for professional adults and utilizing it as a career resource. Visit LinkedIn at http://linkedin.com and sign-up for a profile today. Here are ways it can be beneficial:
  • post your online resume and experiences for others to see your areas of expertise
  • use it as a way to connect with colleagues, friends, former college or high school classmates, potential business and industry partners, and experts who might be able to assist you or answer your questions
  • Ask questions and get answers and advice from experts
  • see job postings or post jobs
There are lots of ways to utilize this social networking tool. Another reason to get on LinkedIn now more than ever is because professional organizations that directly benefit communicators and marketers and those of us in career-tech are now on LinkedIn Groups. Who is on there?
  • National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)
  • Association for Career-Technical Educators (ACTE)
  • Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
  • And our very own group for CTE communicators in Ohio, the Ohio Career-Technical Education Communicators!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

CTE Communicators encouraged to attend OACTE Leadership and Empowerment Summit

2008 Ohio ACTE Leadership and Empowerment Summit
Friday, September 19, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm(Registration at 8:00 am)
Dublin Embassy Suites
There is no registration fee*, but you must register online at
www.ohioacte.org. Meeting details and tentative agenda are also available on the Web site.
Purpose:
It’s time to embark on developing our shared vision for the coming year. Ohio ACTE is ready to plan for the future and become a better resource for Career Technical Educators.
Come hear Ohio ACTE’s strategic plan and vision for the future and how your leadership is needed to further the goals of Ohio ACTE.
SPECIAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
What makes associations effective?
J. Clarke Price, CEO, Ohio Society of CPAs
“7 Measures of Success – What Remarkable Associations Do that Others Don’t”
Expected to attend: Ohio ACTE Committee Chairs/Members, Division Presidents and President-elects, Division Treasurers, Division Secretaries, and Division Conference Chairs, Ohio Department of Education Career and Technical Education staff, anyone wanting to take a leadership role in Ohio CTAE.
*This meeting is being supported by several of our business partners who will be in attendance. Their generosity is appreciated!
Questions? Contact Ohio ACTE at 614/890-2283.

Public information and transparency in Ohio

Volume #77, Report #155, Article #3--Monday, August 11, 2008
NEW THINK TANK SITE CATALOGS PUBLIC RECORDS, INVITES PUBLIC TO EDIT INFORMATION
Lawmakers' capital budget requests and public employees' collective bargaining agreements were among the first documents posted on a new website the Buckeye Institute launched on Monday.
The website (
http://www.ohiosunshine.org/index.php/Main_Navigation_Page ) will not only post data about state and local governments, but allow the public to edit data and create new entries as they see fit, according to the free market think tank.
Michael Maurer, director of the institute's new Center for Transparent and Accountable Government, said the "wiki" site was designed to provide information on government business in s format that is accessible to the public.
In addition to data already available but hard to find on government websites, the institute will make public records requests for additional documents, Mr. Maurer said. Also on the site: e-mail addresses of school district superintendents and treasurers and local government public record policies.
"With very few exceptions, everything the government is doing should be accessible to us," he said during a news conference to publicize the organization's government transparency initiative.
Other states have made better efforts than Ohio to improve government transparency, he said, noting West Virginia has posted its entire public employee payroll online.
While acknowledging that a publicly edited web site could present problems as to the fairness and accuracy of information, Mr. Maurer said the technology already existed and should be used for the vital function of monitoring government functions.
The organization is also asking candidates for public office throughout the state to sign a pledge for transparency and openness in government that expresses belief in posting financial data, labor agreements and other data online.

Pat Huston
Manager, Products & Customer Services
Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education
Ohio Department of Education
25 S. Front St., Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 466-3430

Friday, August 8, 2008

The Get Social Project: The List of 15

As a supplement to the presentation (see post below this one) on social media marketing given at the Ohio ACTE Conference on August 7, 2008, comes The Get Social Project: The List of 15. The purpose of the list is to introduce you and allow you to explore social media tools on your own time and at your own pace. If you complete the list of 15 you will be more aware of the tools and may even decide that they can be useful in marketing, communications, or recruiting. If you have questions or need help, you shouldn't hesitate to ask by emailing Shane Haggerty at shaggerty@ohp.k12.oh.us or by posting your question or comment on this blog. To get started, you have to understand the reason why social media can be valuable. View this video for an easy explanation.

The List of 15:
Phase one:
1. Read one or two blogs and post a comment on at least one. Here are some blogs you can visit: OHP Office of Communications Blog, DrTimTyson.com, OHP Superintendent's Blog, or do a Google search like "Blogs About..." Posting comments is an important part because it contributes to the online conversation. Read any blog you want and make a comment.
2. Once you find a blog or blogs you are interested in, subscribe to it by adding your email if it has that option. If you can't subscribe to it, subscribe to the RSS Feed on the page. Need more help on understanding an RSS Feed? Watch this video.
3. Create your own iGoogle page where you can host various blogs all in one section. Here you will be able to view the various blogs you subscribe to and see if they have been updated. An iGoogle page is just a way to host your RSS feed subscriptions.
4. Create your own blog! You can create a personal blog (maybe you have something to say!) or create one for your school district or organization. You can use WordPress, TypePad, LiveJournal, or Blogger.
Phase two:
5. Visit Flickr and search around. Then, create a Flickr account to share photos or videos.
6. Watch YouTube videos. There are a number of colleges, especially, that have their own dedicated channel on YouTube for hosting. If you are brave, create a video and post it on YouTube. The thing to remember about YouTube or all online video is that people want videos to be REAL. This means it doesn't have to be slick or have high production quality. People enjoy rough, grainy, unplanned, transparent, etc.
7. Visit other video sites like Viddler, VeOh, and SchoolTube.
Phase three:
8. Visit Wikipedia and see what a Wiki is all about. Also, visit WetPaint and see what you can do there to create a Wiki. WetPaint is a bit more user friendly and controllable, in my opinion. Wikis are great tools for classroom collaboration and for internal staff collaboration. You can use Wikis for long-term project planning, meetings, etc.
9. Check out Yahoo! Groups and Google Docs and see all the tools you can use there. Yahoo and Google Groups are also tools you can use for collaboration and planning. Google Docs also has web analytics, e-commerce options, chat, organizational email services, and other services that allow you to manage better and embrace collaboration and cooperation.
Phase four:
10. Join Twitter and start following people. You don't need to know people you follow, but rather pay attention to the field they work in or what they are interested in. Twitter is a great way to network and seek out advice or professional help. Also, many news organizations and corporations (airlines JetBlue, Southwest) are on Twitter and you can follow them and benefit from their updates. You can follow me @shanehaggerty or follow Ohio Hi-Point @OHPthisminute. If you still don't get it, watch this video for an explanation.
11. Sign-up for a Facebook profile. It's easy and fast and you can divulge as much info as you want. Once on there, search for friends, search for groups (most colleges have alumni groups) or professional interest groups. Many businesses and organizations (especially non-profits) have embraced Facebook.
12. Sign-up for a Linkedin profile. Linkedin is a place for adults and professionals and is a great way to network and seek out professional advice and services. Many organizations and companies have started using Linkedin (which allows people to basically post online resumes) for human resource purposes. There is also a group for Ohio Career-Tech Communicators you can join or create a group that applies to what you do.
Phase five:
13. Explore del.icio.us and sign-up. Use this site to easily bookmark websites you come across you'd like to use later for resources or for presentations or just for enjoyment.
14. Explore StumbleUpon and sign-up. Again, this site can easily help you explore the web and keep track of it all.
Phase six:
15. Visit Second Life and learn more. Visit the Ohio University Second Life Campus video on YouTube to see it in action.

Share what you create, how you are using social media, what works and what doesn't, and your opinions, by emailing shaggerty@ohp.k12.oh.us or by posting directly to this blog. Join our conversation within the Ohio ACTE PR Academy.
Of course, you may not want to do all 15 things on the list so you can pick-and-choose and explore what you wish. By completing everything you are guaranteed to at least educate yourself on what your students are experts at. Career-Tech is an innovative form of education and each of us who work in it should be proactive about these tools and embrace them to lead the world of education in innovative ways to utilize these tools.

Social Media Marketing: OACTE Conference Presentation


Social Media Marketing For Career Tech

From: shaggertyohp, 2 minutes ago





Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator at Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, and Kelly Herzog, Public Information Coordinator at Miami Valley CTC, presented on social media marketing at the annual Ohio ACTE Conference in Columbus, OH, on August 7, 2008. For more information visit http://ohioactepr.blogspot.com


SlideShare Link

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Ohio ACTE Conference this week!

The annual Ohio ACTE Conference is being held this week in Columbus on August 7-8.  The Ohio ACTE PR Academy will be meeting on Friday the 8th at a time and place to be announced.  Also, several communicators will be presenting sessions during the conference.  The program guide is now available on the OACTE website and features a listing of all sessions and events during the conference.


Friday, June 20, 2008

Brainstorming at Bob Evans

Today Peg Allen from Warren County Career Center, Monica Danseck from Penta Career Center and me, Shane Haggerty from Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, met at a central point in Wapakoneta at the Bob Evans for what turned out to be a three-hour meeting about the Ohio ACTE PR Academy. While relatively new, this group's purpose is for professional development, idea-sharing, venting, and bringing a sense of community and professionalism to the role of the career-tech communicator, marketer, recruiter or whatever your title. We just wanted to share some thoughts and ideas about how to increase membership (it's free, by the way!) and to collaborate more often in order to provide a support system. Moreover, the role of the PR person is sometimes lessened in the world of education and by growing this group and its image and speaking in a collective voice, we may be able to enhance how people view our roles and justify the importance of what we do! We shared a lot of things and will be communicating those to you soon!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Social Media in Plain English

Here's a helpful and brief video explanation of social media from a company called Common Craft.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Podcasting in Plain English

Today I attended a workshop at the Ohio School Boards Association in Columbus on podcasting. The three-hour workshop was conducted by Apple. So, obviously, we learned to do the podcasts on Apple's GarageBand software. Let me just say this workshop was great and the GarageBand software put a complicated process using a PC into the easy category by utilizing this software.
During the workshop the above video was shown to simplify understanding about podcasts.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Career-Tech Communicator Survey

If you haven't already done this, please click on the link below to complete a survey that will porvide some information to other CTE PR and marketing people. It will also help decide when the Fall CTE Communicators Meeting will be held at Ohio Hi-Point Career Center in Bellefontaine, OH.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=I0FDrm8wyyHKs_2fnJNpViIw_3d_3d

PR Academy

Peg Allen (Warren County CC) and Monica Danseck (Penta CC) have been working hard to create the Ohio ACTE PR Academy in order to provide those of us in career-tech with an outlet for professional development and also to connect us in order to share ideas or best practices. While NSPRA/Ohio is a helpful resource, they are very focused on K-12 education, and we all know that CTE is a different animal. Here is an article from an email newsletter I receive regularly from Hoeck Associates, a PR firm in Toledo. It is all about how forming professional groups and meeting regularly with peers is extremely helpful and rejuvenating. Just thought I would pass it along to hopefully boost interest and encourage involvement in the PR Academy and other CTE Communicator meetings!

"I just got back from my Mastermind group meeting in Las Vegas — wow! What a way to get jazzed and rejuvenated!
I’ve found Masterminding to be one of the best ways for me to keep myself stretching and motivated, and have tried to be involved in some type of “group mind” since I started my business 24 years ago.
My first Mastermind was in the form of an advisory board I put together to hold myself accountable for how I ran my business, and although that wasn’t a true Mastermind in that it was only one directional, it worked that way for me. Five years ago, I started meeting quarterly with other marketing communications firm owners, a group from which I continue to get much inspiration and support. And the bunch that just met in Las Vegas is online and information marketing based — something I’ve been really interested in recently — and full of high-powered, successful entrepreneurs who are giving me a real run for my money. I love the challenge of learning new things and being encouraged by others of like mind. And there really is a magic to it!
If you’re not yet doing any Masterminding, I encourage you to find or form a group and dig in!
Marcia E. Hoeck, President, Hoeck Associates, Inc.


Masterminding is not brainstorming. It’s not just a few people getting together and generating ideas and coming out with an action plan, although that certainly has its place. Masterminding isn’t networking, either, although many great relationships can be built through Masterminding. Masterminding is far greater than either of these.
In his book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill describes the Masterminding principle as having two distinct characteristics:
1. The economic advantages of being surrounded by the advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group of people who are willing to lend you wholehearted aid in a spirit of perfect harmony, and
2. The psychic advantage that no two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.
Magic happens when two or more are gathered in the spirit of sharing, supporting, and receiving support. Masterminding was the secret key to success by titans of business like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and others who changed the modern world. And many of today’s business leaders regularly gather in Mastermind groups to benefit from the powerful group synergies.
Here are the main business advantages of belonging to a Mastermind group:
In Masterminding, challenges are shared and participants are supported by the group. Group energy is used to support and propel participants forward toward individual goals more quickly than could be done on their own.
Participants are held accountable for what they say they want to accomplish, in a way that assists in overcoming obstacles and supports what’s important. This accountability alone assures accomplishment at high levels.
Masterminding gives encouragement and builds confidence in a truthful way. Because everyone has the opportunity to both present their own challenges and to listen and assist others, mutually beneficial relationships form.
Participants are listened to in a safe and non judgemental environment. This is so rare in business today!
Participants have more fun making progress toward goals while others cheer them on to greater results. Ditto here about what’s rare in business — often, we see just the opposite.
If you can’t find a Mastermind group you’d like to be a part of, why not start one yourself? It may take a bit of time to find the right mix of members for your group, but the search will be worth the effort. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
1. Look close to home. By that I mean, take a look at the people you “click” with already, those you find it easy to share ideas with. These could be people in your industry, associations, personal acquaintances, or even online contacts. (Online Mastermind groups can work just as well as in-person groups, as many groups meet by phone for many of their meetings.)
2. Find enthusiastic, like-minded, high-achieving individuals. Make sure you ask people who will have staying power and can commit to regular in-person or phone meetings. Try to find a common thread among participants, such as all are marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, at the same stage of business development, or other common attribute. Ask people you admire and respect!
3. Set some ground rules. There are many resources online for Mastermind group start-ups and guidelines. It’s best to get everyone on the same page as to what’s expected of members, how often and how you’ll meet, and how to best assist each other. Many groups have simple outlines they follow for each session, such as: progress since last meeting, major challenge at this time, and what each member wants help with at the current meeting."

Friday, May 30, 2008

What is Social Media?

I met with Kelly Herzog, public info coordinator at Miami Valley CTC, today on her campus (beautiful place, by the way!). Kelly and I will be presenting on Social Media Marketing at the Ohio ACTE Conference in Columbus on August 7th from 1:40-2:40. We met to break down what we wanted to discuss and we obviously talked a lot about the different tools available. I will preview some of the tools here on this blog throughout the summer and provide some how-to's, but first the question must be answered: What is social media? For that, I turn to the utilization of two forms of social media: a blog and YouTube video clips. These are from a blog called the DivaBlog (http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/), which is committed to discussions about social media, etc. These are first-person perspectives of what social media and I have posted them below.
Shane Haggerty
Communications Coordinator
Ohio Hi-Point Career Center
www.ohiohipoint.com

Michael Pranikoff What Social Media Means To Me

Duncan Wardle What Social Media Means To Me

BL Ochman What social media means to me.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Pay Attention

Wanted to share this interested, fact-filled video, much in the same vain as the popular "Shift Happens" video, but this one from TeacherTube (www.teachertube.com).
Perhaps you can share this with your supervisors and directors and teachers, or if you're like me, heed the info in it and apply it to your marketing and communications strategies.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Video is necessary

Did you know YouTube has over 100 million views per day? The number is staggering. Videos are posted by nearly everyone now on this channel, and as a marketer it is almost necessary to have some sort of video presence online. Now, the problem for those of us in school PR: YouTube is blocked by nearly every school technology department! And it is probably necessary. There are some questionable videos on YouTube and it can be a controversial and distracting element in a school environment. However, here is the view I have as someone who recognizes this is where one of my biggest target audiences is hanging out for hours and hours: IT IS NECESSARY. So at OHP, I know it is blocked while students are in school, but based on a recent survey we did, nearly 85% of our students have the internet at home, 93% are watching videos online always or sometimes, and 71% of them are using YouTube. What this means? This medium cannot be ignored. It is a great and FREE avenue to spread the word of what we are doing in a medium that prospective students (who aren't blocked from YouTube at home) and current students identify with and have made into the "new way" of broadcasting. YouTube is located at www.youtube.com

So, if YouTube is absolutely out of the question, I recommend having videos hosted on your website or hosting them on SchoolTube, a safe and moderated YouTube-esque site, that will host your videos and let you embed them neatly into your website. If you look over to the right on the sidebar you will see SchoolTube's Career-Technical Channel being fed into this player I was easily able to embed into this blog. SchoolTube is located at www.schooltube.com

I am going to be attempting some innovative marketing methods using both YouTube and SchoolTube (hopefully if time allows!!) and I will keep you informed on this blog of my progress and results.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Question from Peg Allen at Warren County CC and Responses

Peg Allen, public information specialist at Warren County Career Center, asked this question of her colleagues in CTE:

Do any of you do annual reports? If so, how many do you print, how do you distribute them and what is your time of publication? Thanks! Peg

Peg Allen
Public Information Specialist
Warren County Career Center
www.wccareercenter.com
513-932-5677 ext. 5204
Peg.Allen@mywccc.org


Here are some of the responses she has received back:

"We do not currently do an annual report, although it is being considered in some fashion. We are thinking of doing it as a “special edition” of our district newsletter and tying the information that would be in an annual report around testimonials and feature stories and a year-in-review format. So, it would come out this July or early August if we did it. The cost is what concerns me, though, because if we did it as an edition of our newsletter we would have to print over 50,000, and I don’t know of the value of doing something so costly."
-Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator at Ohio Hi-Point Career Center

"Hi Peg,Thank you for the clarification and for the kind words about the annual report. It is always nice to hear that someone likes what we’ve done. =)
We had 1,750 reports printed. We distributed them to:
· county commissioners
· the boards of education of the school districts we serve
· our advisory committee members
· JOBS coordinators
· our staff
· agencies with whom we work
· guidance counselors
· principals
· superintendents
· media contacts
· chambers of commerce
· our tech prep partners
· city and village officials
· state officials
· Ohio career centers
· Former seniors
· Boards of elections
The distribution is done by mail. We provide our printer with a database of addresses, and he takes care of the rest. We typically try to have the report finished no later than October, but we really strive for September.
I hope this helps. If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to call me at 740-452-4518, ext. 136 or e-mail me at
ktatman@mvesc.k12.oh.us"
-Kim Tatman, Communications Coordinator at Muskingum Valley ESC

If you wish to respond to Peg's inquiry, you can post it here on the blog in the COMMENTS section or email Peg directly at Peg.Allen@mywccc.org


Back to blogging!

So it has been quite some time since I have had the chance to blog. As you all are aware, the time we have as career-tech communicators is limited so the blogging had to be pushed aside for awhile. I truly value this form of communication and look forward to talking more about how it can be used as a communications and marketing tool for career-technical schools, especially at the Ohio ACTE Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, this August. My session will be all about social media and how to adapt it for use as a marketing tool. I am presenting with Kelly Herzog of Miami Valley Career-Technical Center on Thursday, August 7 from 1:40-2:40 p.m. I will be previewing a lot of the material on this blog as time approaches.
The Ohio ACTE PR Academy is new, and the interest has been fairly un-inspired at the moment. However, I am excited about this opportunity to unite as career-tech marketers, communicators, and recruiters in order to provide assistance to each other and a forum to vent, ideate, and strategize. In my brief time in this position at Ohio Hi-Point, I have become a big fan of what CTE offers students, but I have also become well-aware of the unfair image CTE has with many people still after decades. I believe that by utilizing each other as a resource and speaking with a common message, CTE can overcome negative stereotypes and false interpretations. I hope you will use this blog as a means to communicate with one another, to start discussions, and share ideas. Also, if you want anything posted to start a topic or ask a question, shoot me an email at shaggerty@ohp.k12.oh.us. I will try to post at least once a week, if not more, so stay tuned...

Posted by:
Shane Haggerty
Communications Coordinator
Ohio Hi-Point Career Center
Bellefontaine, OH 43311
shaggerty@ohp.k12.oh.us
www.ohiohipoint.com

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

SUMMARY: Book provides marketing ideas

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
(Random House 2007)
SUMMARY
Prepared for the Ohio Department of Education


PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
The book’s two main purposes are to help people 1) understand what makes ideas “stick;” and 2) to create more “sticky” ideas. The primary objective is to apply qualities and principles to propel big strategic goals, but the framework is also applicable to everyday projects, such as speeches.

QUICK OVERVIEW
Six qualities of what makes something “stick” followed by the communication framework are:
· Simplicity – Deliver core and compact message
· Unexpectedness – Pay attention
· Concreteness – Understand and remember
· Credibility – Agree/believe
· Emotional – Care
· Stories – Act
Numerous examples – from the classroom to business-industry and beyond – are used to demonstrate how others used these qualities to make their ideas stick and grow.

QUALITY DETAIL
I. Simplicity – What’s my core point?
· You need to unpack information to determine the most critical point.
· Separate “critical” from beneficial and keep the critical from being buried.
· Use short, easy-to-understand words and sentences in layers to allow knowledge to build.
· Tap into audience’s prior knowledge, invoking schemas that already exist.
· Coming up with a short, compact phrase is easy; coming up with a phrase that fits the core point is more difficult.
· AVOID – Avoid starting with something interesting, but irrelevant. Work to make the critical/core message more interesting and relevant. Avoid the “curse of knowledge” – difficulty remembering what it was like not to know something.
II. Unexpected – How can I get and keep attention?
· The most basic way to get attention is to break a pattern.
· Surprise gets attention, generally by making the audience interested in find an answer; interest keeps attention.
· The more knowledge people have, the more likely they are to want to know more.
· Help people care by providing a context that they relate to.
· Unexpected ideas create insight and knowledge gaps.
· Curiosity happens when there is a knowledge gap.
· Unexpected messaging relating to the core message can have surprising longevity.
· AVOID – Avoid surprises that don’t relate to the core message. Common sense or the obvious should be avoided. Avoid telling facts before people realize they need the facts.
III. Concrete – How can I speak in “everyday” language?
· Concreteness is basic to understanding.
· Details help with understanding and memory to make messages stick.
· Try to replace or supplement abstract nouns like “justice” with concrete language.
· The more “hooks” (prior knowledge) connected to the core, the better it will be remembered.
· Try to imagine what it was like before you had the knowledge you have.
· Concreteness makes the core message more transparent.
· Use visuals to assist with concrete messages to help change audience attitude from reactive and critical to active and creative.
· AVOID – Avoid abstract language because it’s harder to understand and remember. Avoid thinking and talking abstractly because you believe it defines you as an expert.
IV. Credible – Why would someone listen to me?
· We believe people because of their credentials, because we want to be like them and/or “star” power.
· Audience beliefs are influenced by how our families and friends believe, by prior experiences and through faith and trust.
· Anti-authorities (former drug addict, etc.) can be more credible with a message than authorities; discern when to use this.
· Make statistics more credible by contextualizing them in terms that are more human.
· Honest data enforces boundaries – a good thing – but there is still “wiggle room” to put data in the context of audience understanding.
· The audience itself can be used as the source of credibility to make an idea stick – involving audience in testing a claim.
· Remember that engaging audience in testing credibility may result in an invalid conclusion.
· AVOID – Avoid searching for data to match. Use statistics/data as input – not output; use them to make up your mind and not to match what your mind has already made up.
V. Emotional – How can I get others to care?
· When it comes to our hearts, one individual is better than focusing on the masses.
· For people to take action, they need to care.
· Use memory and tap into emotions that already exist (what people already care about).
· Use “you” or names in appeals.
· Recognize what motivates people (Maslow’s Pyramid) but that the physical, security, belonging, esteem, learning, aesthetic, self-actualization and transcendence to helping others realize their potential can happen simultaneously.
· People are more motivated by the emotions of esteem and to learning than to being given money or things.
· People are motivated by what they believe they should do and what their special interest group (gender, race, etc.) believes they should do.
· Message needs to address “why” something should be done as well as “what.”
· AVOID – Avoid overuse of statistics, which shift people to an analytical frame of mind. When people think analytically, they are less likely to think emotionally. Avoid overuse of emotional terms or phrases to dilute the impact; the audience sees this as exploitation.
VI. Stories – How can I get others to buy-in and do something?
· Stories inspire and help illustrate problem-solving and relationships.
· Stories provide 1) knowledge how to act; and 2) motivation to act.
· Stories about past events to illustrate the core message usually “stick” better than stories with simulated future outcomes.
· Stories help people solve problems.
· Stories have three main purposes: 1) Challenge – make us want to work harder and take on new challenges; 2) Connection – bridge gaps and show us how we and/or our situations are alike; and 3) Creativity – help us solve problems with new creative approaches.
· Stories can be a springboard to demonstrating how things can change.
· AVOID – Avoid a good story that doesn’t fit.

Pat Huston (pat.huston-holm@ode.state.oh.us)
Manager, Products & Customer Services
Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education
Ohio Department of Education

Observations from the Ohio ACTE Legislative Seminar

On January 23rd and 24th, superintendents, directors, teachers, communicators, and others with a vested interested in career-technical education gathered in Columbus for the annual legislative seminar. Throughout the next week or so, I will be posting some summaries from the sessions:

From Leadership with the Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education
(Primarily Tom Applegate)

The primary message of CTAE is that this entity “provides solutions to Ohio’s workforce development needs.”
Everybody needs education after high school but not everybody needs to go to college.
CTE secondary programs lead the way to prepare high school students with academic and technical knowledge and skills to transition to the 2lst century workforce or postsecondary education.
Adult workforce programs are well positioned to transform Ohio’s economy, including assistance with credentialing and postsecondary education.
System capacity is the key to such reform initiatives as the University System of Ohio, Ohio Skills Bank, Programs of Study, Dual Enrollment, Tech Prep, Early and Middle College High Schools, Apprenticeship, High Schools That Work, STEM

Rich Rosen
· Battelle is starting its work now with third graders.
· CTE has been in the STEM conversation for more than 20 years. The “relevance” part is where CTE shines.
· We are not competing internationally, especially with Asian countries.
· Low performance of U.S. students in STEM benchmarks is more severe in minorities.
· Supply and demand is a STEM issue. For example, 50 percent of all U.S. teachers leave the profession in five years; many of these are in the math teacher shortage areas. Six percent of U.S. high school students study engineering. A large number of them go on to college, but change careers there. There are expected to be 12 million STEM job openings by 2015.
· STEM is a foundation with critical thinking and problem-solving ability. STEM goes beyond what the letters stand for – to knowledge of other cultures, English and other languages, for example.
· Three characteristics of a technologically literate citizen are 1) knowledge; 2) ways of thinking and acting; and 3) capability to solve problems.
· The latest surveys indicate that parents believe STEM is important but not for their child and that students think STEM is important but not for them.
· Young people are not technologically literate; they are technologically fluent, using technology but having no clue about how it happens.
· Among STEM issues are 1) need to make it relevant for the creative and innovative world – not just for someone who wants to be a scientist or engineer; 2) understanding that emphasis on STEM does not put art, English and other areas at risk; 3) need to communicate/demonstrate consequences for not implementing STEM; 4) demonstrating that STEM is for all students, regardless of record of prior successes; 5) being able to visualize various STEM careers; and 6) finding common ground and aligning policy.
· Young people relate better and are more influenced by younger people in STEM careers than those who have been in the careers for a while. Educators need help in understanding STEM and telling the STEM story.
· Key STEM principles include 1) engaging in actions that are change catalysts; 2) learning from others; 3) connecting efforts; and 4) sustaining and replicating.
· STEM involves critical thinking, inquiry, collaboration, communication, engagement and active and responsible decision-making.
· Many employers would rather not hire graduates who were in the top 10 of their class because they didn’t use anybody else but themselves to get there. Employers want collaborators.
· Just In Time concepts are important.
· Maybe we need to stop saying “STEM” and do it, making it integral and invisible.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Request for photos from OACTE

I hope you can help!

I am going to have our membership brochure and (eventually) Web site updated and would like to include pictures of career tech instructors, administrators, etc. interacting with students or facilitating classes. Pictures showing the use of technology or other "photogenic" and popular programs would also be welcome.

The audience will be other career tech educators (potential Ohio ACTE members) so the focus of the photos should be on educators, not students. Any interesting photos showing any type of program are appreciated!

If you have some interesting photos that you could let me use, I would greatly appreciate it! Please email me high res. jpegs and any permissions that I need for my my files.

Thanks in advance for your help!



Post submitted by:
Christine Gardner
Executive Director, Ohio ACTE
christine@ohioacte.org