1. Telling the Technology Story Presented at SchoolDude University 2009 Vicki Smith Bigham President, Bigham Technology Solutions, Inc.

4. Telling the Technology Story Public relations is a critical component of your district’s successful technology implementation— and it involves communicating on an ongoing basis with the range of stakeholders inside and outside the district. - from Telling the Technology Story: PR Strategies for School Leaders , Consortium for School Networking, 2006

9. Do . . . . Don’t . . . . Get your facts together Say “no comment” Anticipate hard questions; be prepared with solid answers Speculate or assume Respond quickly with only what you know Use techno-speak Focus on only what is important Be defensive or point the finger Say important things first Make “off the record” remarks or assume any remark is off the record Try to deal with it only once Consider having one point person for media calls Be accessible to the media Return calls within their deadline Leverage good media relationships Be sure everyone is on the same page

13. Community Support Makes a Difference Source: Digital Leadership Divide , Grunwald Associates

14. Vicki Smith Bigham Bigham Technology Solutions, Inc. 8045-B Antoine #101 Houston, TX 77088 [email_address]