Creative Communication: The Persona

Ever trying to follow in the footsteps of Tom, I realized quickly that it helps to add drama and humor into your communication with staff and students. Shortly after taking the Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) position, I began brainstorming possible personae to catch the attention of my staff. I finally settled on

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I created a wall size poster of the image above, laminated it, and hung it behind my desk. I put reminders on it for students and staff. Whether reminders of training dates or loud calls to back up and archive weekly, this poster has definitely caught the eyes of teachers and learners.

Taking it one step further, I ventured into film with “Ted Coe”–my twin brother. I casted Ted as a bumbling authority who really had little knowledge of technology, and placed myself next to him as the voice of reason. My most recent project was a series of videos that introduce our county’s Technology Integration Progression Chart (or TIP-C) to the staff. Below is one of the videos. Under it is a link to my TIP-C page with all of the videos.

The TIP-Chart Page

The teachers are responding favorably to the videos. I think it keeps communication fresh, and it is always nice to be entertained while you are learning something new. This idea could easily be incorporated into the classroom in much the same way some of our other creative communication posts could be.

One final note: The videos are pretty low quality when it comes to production. I could have spent more time with lighting, sound, and editing to make them seem more realistic (like bleeding sound to make the conversation seem more believable), but I decided not to. I’m hoping to get some teachers and students to play with video editing, and I want to show that a video doesn’t have to be perfect to make a point.

3 thoughts on “Creative Communication: The Persona

  1. It’s a heck of a nice job for your first major effort; at least the first I’ve seen. Nice job Jim! With Tom moving on up to the big leagues, and you filling his shoes at school, are there enough technology savvy individuals to keep the momentum moving at your school?

    I thought you did a great job with the movie, and once again find myself envious that you get to work in such a fantastic environment.

  2. Brilliant!

    Joyce Valenza advises teacher/librarians to “make noise” and your poster certainly does that. You should place duplicates or variations in other spots: teacher’s room, main office, etc.

    Looking forward to seeing more such cool “tricks” on your blog.

    diane

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