6 Ways to Use Periscope at Your School

Screenshot 2015-07-29 17.07.18I love everything Disney. Having lived in Florida since 2001 and been an annual passholder ever since, I have visited the parks well over 100 times.

One of the songs that I like is from Aladdin: “A Whole New World.” Aladdin sings to Princess Jasmine that he can show her the world.

“A whole new world…A new fantastic point of view.”

Now, through the social media app, Periscope, you can show your parents and community your school by giving them a new fantastic point of view.

Periscope is one of the new social media sites catching online buzz. This new tool allows you to broadcast live video to anyone in the world and to interact with your viewers and followers.

According to the founders of Periscope: “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around.”

If you’ve been a reader of my blog over the years, you will know that I focus on the importance of storytelling. Periscope gives you the opportunity to tell the story of your school in this innovative format.

In order to introduce you to Periscope, I will provide a Scope on Friday, July 31, at 1pm EDT. During this scope I will discuss the use of Periscope and the six ways you can use it in your school. You will need to download Periscope on your smartphone and follow me (search for RickNewberry). You can also follow me on Twitter @RickNewberry and you can connect via the link that will be sent when I launch the live broadcast. The Scope will last about 15 minutes.

I am intrigued by the use of Periscope in schools for several reasons: First, it gives you the opportunity to broadcast and stream live to your followers and anyone else in your local community and around the world. Second, this tool is interactive, allowing your viewers to share comments and questions, and to even show a little love by giving you a heart when they like something you’ve said. Third, Periscope provides a platform that is very personal but not slick and polished. In real time, you can use this tool to connect to your community. Fourth, your live broadcasts can be recorded so that you can share these with your community online through social media channels or on your website. You can record them on your phone or you can set up an automatic web recording through www.Katch.me. Finally, it gives you the opportunity to share real stories and content of your school.

What if you could take the power of Periscope and use it in your school?

Could current parents better understand the current state of the school, your vision, and the reasons for your decisions? Could you connect with your parents in a personal and real way in this format?

Could current and prospective parents peer into the classroom, special events and field trips to better experience learning?

Recently, I conducted my first scope with my current and past clients as trial run. During my scope, I shared six ways that you can use Periscope at your school:

  1. Leadership Scope – As a former head of school, I know that it is important to connect with your school community. While a presence in car lines, coffee meetings and regular communication through email is great, I can see how Periscope could be utilized by the leadership to share live messages from the head of school or principals. This provides a direct line communication from leadership that can connect with the school community as often as desired.
  1. Interviews – Since Periscope is a live broadcast, you could use this format to conduct an interview with a faculty or staff member. This interview could be focused on the person and/or the program she/he represents. For example, you could introduce new teachers to your community by interviewing them in a Scope. You could also discuss programs at your school that you want to highlight. For example, you may want to highlight your new STEAM initiative, hands-on learning approach, your kindergarten program or how your school prepares students for college. The programs you could highlight are endless in this format.
  1. Behind the Scenes – Parents love the opportunity to peer into a class, a special learning activity or a field trip. Through Periscope, you could live stream broadcast these activities through a behind-the-scenes look in the learning environment at your school.
  1. Events – Your school calendar is filled with special events throughout the year. From back-to-school nights to special assemblies to grandparents day to musical productions and more, you have the opportunity to showcase events at your school and provide commentary about what you see to your community.
  1. Q&A Sessions – Many school leaders provide open coffee meetings to connect with parents. Through Periscope, you could address a topic and allow for questions. Or, you could have a open-ended Q&A session for your community.
  1. Open House and Virtual Tour – You could use Periscope to broadcast your open house and to provide a live-stream tour of the campus.

So, go ahead. What are you waiting for? Think about how you can use Periscope to show your community your school.

In order to introduce you to Periscope, I will provide a Scope on Friday, July 31, at 1pm EDT. You will need to download Periscope on your smartphone and follow me (search for RickNewberry). By following me, you will receive notifications whenever I launch a new broadcast.

Also, if you are looking for an e-book on how to get started with Periscope, I would recommend that you download Kim Garst’s “Periscope 101.” Kim provides an excellence overview of “what you need to know to get started on Twitter’s hot new live streaming app.”

Hope you tune in for my Scope.

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