WordPress in Schools | E-Rate Changes

E-Rate Changes, School and District Websites

The FCC has restructured what and how funding is provided for technologies in eligible school districts.  While change can be difficult this is definitely good for our schools. This is good for our communities. This is good for families and our children.

This is the first major change to how E-Rate is structured in a full seventeen years. Consider for a moment just how much the world has changed particularly with regard to the web and web based communications. Think about what the web was like in 1997. The legacy practices and solutions to a large extent have been holding us all back for a long time.

WordPress in Schools – Cameron Barrett

Cameron Barrett:
cbarrett@nps.k12.nj.us
cameron@barrett.org

WordPress in Schools – Resonate Web Marketing

When we found out that Cameron Barrett was presenting on WordPress in Schools in Grand Rapids we were excited. We made sure we were there. Above is an abbreviated version of his presentation. It was amazing. Cameron will be presenting more on this topic in time. If you are involved with your school or district and have an opportunity to listen to Cameron speak on this topic you will want to attend.

Obstacles for School and District Websites

There are several primary causes for the predicament schools, districts and our communities find themselves in.

• Decision Maker Familiarity with Web Technologies:
  First and foremost is that too many school district boards and policy makers are not really familiar with web technologies.

Because it has to do with computers it’s assumed tech, systems or network support personnel can do this. These however are very different skill sets.

Too often when it is time for a decision it is safer to go with a proprietary solution that other schools and districts select. This in spite of the fact that upon easy observation, those other school and district sites are very poor models to follow. The challenge is to find an example of best-practices actually demonstrated by those actually using the proprietary solutions vendor.

Don’t look at the demo. Look at the websites of actual users. They’re all bad. Lastly, please do not be fooled by splashy pictures on the home page. Real value is in website usability, quality of content and the ability to access it. DO NOT stop at the home page. Mark what time it is. Now try locating a few commonly needed, current pieces of information. There is the test.

• Closed-Source vs Open Source:
  There is a fundamental flaw with proprietary, closed source web technologies and it is this. The vendor controls everything and you dear client have no control. None, zero. You are handcuffed. If you don’t know this just try switching platforms.  🙂

You are dependent upon their ability to adapt to a very rapidly evolving web ecosystem. One fundamental shortcoming is that no single proprietary solutions vendor can adapt their platform as quickly as the world of developers are updating the open-source platforms. It simply cannot be done. They will always lag behind. If a thing is being done, online it’s available in open-source. It’s available on WordPress. Next year or never, it will be available on a proprietary platform.

The argument will be made that a closed-source solution affords greater control, security and reliability. These are legitimate needs. The fact is however that open-source and WordPress in particular is as secure and reliable as any platform available and is widely used by more security and reliability dependent organizations, around the world than any of the largest proprietary solutions providers. It simply isn’t true. Currently WordPress powers nearly one in every four websites being developed, around the world.

The greater control argument is even more flawed. The basic problem and irony with closed-source is lack of control. The closed source vendor indeed does have control, all the control. The client has virtually none. So this is really a benefit for who? If as a client you need something that is not in the packaged solution you are required to work through the closed-source vendor to have a modification made for your circumstance. This is exceedingly expensive and time consuming.

• Actual User Adoption:
  “Train the Trainer” You’ve been presented with this solution right? It’s really hard to make it work in actual practice.

Here’s the thing. When you view the demo’s from the closed-source proprietary vendors they’re amazing, truly. The capabilities and potential of these solutions are grand. Why then do we not see this in practice? The demo featured only those things it was designed to do in that particular way, with that particular input and critically, with that particular platform knowledge and expertise.

What if, in practice your school or district users don’t have the time, comfort level with the technology or motivation to learn this system? Critically, what if this platform they’re being asked to use has absolutely no value or application outside of these specific work duties? The fact is people change jobs and responsibilities all the time. Turn over is a fact of life.

There is a learning curve. Consider being required to learn a proprietary system which, who knows if you’ll ever be faced with again? You’ll never use it at home or any other organization you’re involved with. Frankly, while everyone wants to do a good job at work there’s nothing really in it for you. Now consider this, WordPress powers nearly a quarter of all websites around the world. Chances are your church, your club, your community organization is using WordPress. Ask around. You’ll find this to be true. Now, something that you’re learning for your school or district has direct application for your personal life. You can take this learning with you wherever you go, in-district or out. Consider how this would impact your learning this open-source platform.

• Training on Proprietary Systems vs Open Source:  Here is why schools and districts rely on “Train the Trainer”. There really isn’t a viable, cost-effective option.

Training is expensive. Personnel time is expensive, particularly that of an out-of-state proprietary vendor and E-Rates does not cover this.  The burden of training is essentially shifted to the schools and districts to do this themselves. They are frequently challenged to handle this critical step. The website platform may even have potential. It comes down to execution though. If the available capabilities are not used or used poorly it’s a disservice to tax payers, the community and the families depending on this information from their children’s schools.

With Open-source platforms there are many… many more options for user training. This includes many free options. In addition its likely friends, acquaintances and coworkers are themselves already familiar with WordPress already, because it is everywhere. The “user community” is pervasive and that’s good for you. Additionally, the world is full of vendors all competing to provide the best possible training on a given platform and WordPress in particular. If there is something new in the web ecosystem there are professional experts prepared to help you. Proprietary solutions… they hold the monopoly. They control everything. You are left with “train the trainer”.

Help for school and district websites decision makers

Frankly, as long as this is it is only the tip of the iceberg. I could go on but I’ll spare you. 🙂

As a school or school district you’re likely already aware that the circumstances are stacked against you and you have little room and resources to maneuver. You are being held accountable but your hands are tied over the situation regarding your school or districts web site and web based communications with your community and families. Further, you may not yourself be fully comfortable with the technologies being considered and their trade-offs.

There’s more to cover but it would take too much time. If you would like to talk about what you’re facing with regard to E-Rate, school and district websites, web based communications with your community and families we would love to talk with you. If you need some expert input at a schools or district conference we would be happy to meet with you. Let us know. We’d like to help. We feel your pain.

Further reading on E-Rates and changes to school website funding:

• Federal Communications Commission: “Modernizing the E-rate Program for Schools and Libraries” Adopted July 11, 2014  Note: Pg. 60. article 145, Pg. 61. article 347, Pg. 62 article 150

• Federal Communications Commission:  “Summary of the E-Rate Modernization Order“

• E-Rate Central:  “E-Rate Central News for the Week“

• Education Week:  “Schools Set to Adjust to Revamped E-Rate Policies“

WordPress WordCamp Milwaukee 2014

Members of our team attended the WordPress WordCamp in Milwaukee this last weekend. This was the third year for this regional technology users group event and we’ve attended all three years. Kudos to the organizers, volunteers and sponsors. This event each year has gotten bigger and better. You’ll note from the pic above that while there is serious learning going on the organizers, all standing together at the front of the room during kick-off, to their credit don’t take themselves too seriously. We’re in Wisconsin ergo the cow theme for the weekend. Thankfully we got all the cow puns out of the way quickly and mooo-ved on to the knowledge exchange in short order.  😉

What’s WordCamp? Why should I care?

Sure. You own or manage a business or organization. You’re trying to reach your target audience online, engage with them in a meaningful and ongoing way and hopefully encourage them towards a desired action.
You have business needs.

Well its in your own best interests to know that we at Resonate are actively engaged in the never ending pursuit of keeping current with the rapid pace of evolution in the web technologies we use to meet our client needs. There’s no coasting here. It doesn’t work.

The term WordPress may not mean anything to you, perhaps it shouldn’t.  You have running your business or organization to stay on top of. Allow us to be the experts here in helping guide you to meet your online aspirations. If in fact you are aware of WordPress and already know it’s the way you should be going or simply are curious to know more or why… we’d be happy to talk with you. Suffice to say that you’ve come to the right place.

But What’s in it for you?

I wanted to talk a bit about our attendance at this regional technology users group gathering this last weekend for a couple reasons. Firstly we had a great time and learned a lot. We love this stuff. We were able to reconnect with a range of subject matter experts who have become friends, colleagues and collaborators over all these years and had many great conversations. I continue to be enthused about the work that we do. I’m a lucky guy.

What’s in it for our clients is the assurance that we’re working hard for you to stay current with this rapidly advancing world of web based communications and marketing. We’re not new to this. We’ve been working in this space for close to twenty years now. We have some deep experience and relationships to draw upon in helping our clients.

Some things that spark our interest

There is no such thing as having arrived. There is always more to learn. I must say though that it was affirming to find that all things considered we’re doing well and better than most. That’s likely due to the fact that we’ve been doing this for some time now and have been fortunate enough to have worked with some fantastic clients who have had interesting, complex and challenging projects. While we welcome and can do the simple “brochure” websites we gravitate towards the interesting challenges. We’re not afraid to tackle the hard projects.

So the subjects we focus on and our conversations often revolve around current and potential client needs. Some times we’ll attend sessions on where we’re already deep to see what’s new, sometimes we’ll attend something completely different as these often strikes new ideas.

We attend a lot of WordCamps and have for years. For us the key determinant for these professional development events is the quality of the conversations. The sessions are great of course but firstly, for us it’s the attendees and the conversations.

As for the sessions, a few favorites:

Lisa Sabin-Wilson | Check & Double Check – Internal QA is Vital
Lisa’s presentations are always first rate. Given that we attend a lot of WordCamps we’ve heard Lisa’s presentations any number of times so the fact that she was addressing a new topic was really intriguing and a must-attend for us. Of course it was great, very informative and action-able. A huge thank you to Lisa. You help us to help our clients.

Dre Armeda | WordPress Security – Kill The Noise
Dre… what can you say. Energy, enthusiasm, to the point and informative. If you’ve not heard of Dre he’s the co-founder of Sucuri, arguably the leader in website security services. Security, it’s an issue for so many and likewise something we focus on and help new clients with who’ve found themselves in trouble. Thank you Dre for helping us help our clients.

Greg Rickaby | SASS Basics
This was a real treat for us. You see, we’ve been big fans of Greg for years now but never had the opportunity to meet or listen to him speak. I suspect Ana may have given the wrong impression as creeper given her enthusiasm for having finally met someone who’s professional / technology insights we’ve enjoyed for years. Here again, his presentation was content rich and an eye opener. Thank you for that.

We’ll keep attending

The WordPress WordCamps like Milwaukee’s don’t disappoint. We’ll keep attending, keep learning and keep talking with both new and old compatriots. It’s good for us. It’s good for our clients.

A problem with WordPress = Job Security

Here’s the good new / bad news about WordPress. It’s relatively easy to learn the basics. Italics because the operative word is “relatively”.

Months ago I read a great blog post making this point better than I could hope to. If you’re reading this and it was you, apologies. You’re welcome to remind me. 🙂

Where I got it wrong

The point being made was that WordPress IS NOT easy. And that’s the trap many fall into. Frankly, honestly that may be where I myself unintentionally may have misguided people myself. For this I apologize. Sad secret, I can’t code my way out of a wet sack. Thankfully I know some very smart people who can. So I figured, heck if I can do this WordPress thing surely I could coach others. I was wrong. It’s simply beyond what many have the time and interest to build the skill set or discerning eye to see. The devil in the details stuff.

The fact is unless you’re doing more than basic things, unless you’re working it on a regular basis, done well WordPress still takes a lot of time and effort to master. Further, it requires some expertise developed out of experience. WordPress is NOT easy. It is simply easier than other full featured CMS’s. It’s relatively easy. Yes, you can find easier canned web solutions but lord help you if your needs fall outside the lines of specifically it has been designed to do.

Back-Peddling

And here comes the disclaimer. Agreed, it still and has always come down to right tool for the right job. And there are certainly applications and client circumstances where another CMS solutions would be a better choice and WP would not be advised. That however is a thick topic for another day.

WordPress is relatively easy, particularly to update once a site has been expertly designed for you. This when compared to other full CMS platforms.

WordPress is easier to learn and customize for general or individual needs.

Sirens Song of WordPress

Given that WordPress is relatively easy many brave souls are seduced into thinking… hey, yeah! I’m going go pick out one of those beautiful templates and build me a website. I’ve seen late night commercials. Kids do this right? It looks easy enough, it’ll take me a few hours and I’ll be in business. Besides, WordPress is open source and Free anyways, right?

Or the other dynamic is honest, hard-working, well meaning people interested in launching into the world of “professional” web development will start pounding out website for others.

The Unfortunate Part

The unfortunate part of WordPress is that with a lower bar of entry also comes a higher volume of do-it-yourself-ers and “professionals” who’ve not quite yet mastered the subtle complexities of web design and customization. This or they don’t quite yet have the horsepower for the needed follow-through. WordPress is not… take a breath… a set it and forget it platform. As much as you might wish it to be so it takes care and feeding. It is an evolving platform and that’s a good thing. You will need to either master updating and maintaining the site or have it done for you. Set it and forget it? That’s how sad things happen.

The WP paradox that leads to Job Security

The reason why all this comes to mind is we keep getting website owners (or other developers) coming to us who’ve gotten themselves in a pickle or in over their head. This is not a failing of WordPress. We’re huge fans ourselves and absolutely believe it is the right tool for the job for most folks we speak with. When it’s not we’ll admit that and refer you to some trusted experts. Even for those coming to us with broken sites it’s still the right platform for them, they simply need greater expertise.

A final note of caution though. Each of these folks we’ve helped get back on the rails and moving forward, every one of them had already paid someone else once already. Now they’re paying us to fix the mess, that is if it’s not a total train wreck and its not quicker and cheaper for them to have us redo it from scratch.  Job security? Between our own clients and fixing other’s messes WordPress may be the gift that keeps on giving.