I admit that I was skeptical about spending time in both North and South Dakota showcasing Web-based technologies to leaders and staff as a potential membership organizing tool.
Techno-demographics illustrate for both Dakotas a largely senior member population. In addition, state legislative mandates for EdTech are less than on par with other more progressive and populated states. For North and South Dakota, these two factors would seem to suggest that membership’s interest in learning about and engaging in how to use new technology to connect with their association might be, at best, an uninteresting proposition.
So far, I am pleased with and have learned a lot from the excitement and open-mindedness of association leaders and staff where learning about and using Web-based technologies to recruit and engage members in the association is concerned.
Below are a few examples of association use of Web 2.0 technologies to engage members and support association work:
SDEA Virtual Network:
Leaders and staff assigned to support the association’s membership recruitment campaign (MRC) agreed that they needed to learn more about Web 2.0 tools before they considered using them to recruit and organize their members. In the beginning of October, I offered SDEA’s MRC stakeholders a presentation on Web 2.0 tools. At the end of the presentation, we all agreed that we would leverage social networking to manage our recruitment campaign.
We designed “SDEA Virtual Network” to support reporting out targeted local events, manage MRC calendars, Upload and edit photos of targeted local events, author, store and co-edit MRC reporting documents.
After learning and using SDEA Virtual Network, SDEA President Sandy Arseneault was so excited about the potential of Social Networking that she created two networks on her own:
SDEA Board of Directors
SDEA Presidents Network
In North Dakota, I met with certified staff of Grand Forks Education Association (GFEA) and discussed various Web 2.0 tools. They're using a Wiki to keep their local informed of association happenings.
Finally, I met with GFEA ESP folks. After outlining carefully the importance of managing a Net presence, the group of ESP leaders agreed that they wanted to leverage social networking to increase membership involvement and communications.
I will be returning to North and South Dakota to meet with several locals to discuss developing connected social networks to existing state association networks. The value of leveraging social networking within both state’s MRC work extends beyond that reaped by the affiliates. It gives NEA an opportunity to observe how members and leaders use such tools and how their populations respond to new ways of association communications.