Riding the wave of personal technology: once reluctant users, superintendents now find their hand-held devices an indispensable tool for leveraging their leadership.

Doug Otto, superintendent of the Piano Independent School District in Piano, Texas, doesn't leave home or the office without two hand-held computing devices: his BlackBerry, which doubles as a cell phone, and his Palm Pilot.

"I'm pretty much connected 24-7," says Otto, who also has a desktop computer in his home and a laptop at his office.

The hand-held devices, he says, "go off constantly," the result of incoming phone calls, text messages, e-mails and electronic reminders of meetings or other events. The most important get his immediate attention and often instant responses.

It's quite a change from 26 years ago when Otto assumed his first superintendency. Then, he noted, "Unless people had your home phone number, you could pretty much divorce yourself from your work."

But today, out of the office doesn't have to mean out of touch for Otto and many other superintendents. Gone, too, are the hours they spent every day playing telephone tag or dictating letters or memos to school board members, parents or district employees out in the schools. Even the volume of voice mail superintendents receive these days is dwindling, replaced by e-mail and instant messaging--more often than not, it seems, accessed on mobile devices such as Palm TREOs.

However, as the availability and allure of personal technology devices proliferate, superintendents find themselves confronting a new challenge. It's a matter, says Otto, of figuring out "how best to leverage technology to help us do our jobs, while not becoming enslaved by it."

Managing Creatively

Helping Otto and other superintendents find that happy medium is someone such as Jim Hirsch, Piano's associate superintendent for technology. His first job was teaching math in the Minneapolis, Minn., area 32 years ago. "If you were a math teacher back in the '70s, you were the person responsible for technology as it came into the district," he says, noting, "My hobby became my job."

Over the years, Hirsch has watched the availability and use of educational technology explode. "One of the roles of any chief technology leader in a school system is to make sure the rest of the leaders understand the power of the tools they have to manage their workload," he says.

According to Hirsch, that's particularly important when it comes to today's superintendents, who are forced to "manage their enterprises" differently than their predecessors. That's largely because the job has become so much more complex.

"Changing student demographics means superintendents have to be aware of new cultures and ever-changing regulations, and reform measures imposed by the state and federal government mean they have to provide more training for staff and additional resources for the classroom," he says.

What's more, there are the ever-increasing demands on school districts and school district personnel from the public. "As a superintendent you have to be in touch with so many people--and about everything from academic accountability to pedestrian density and the need for a new sidewalk--that the job has become a communication nightmare," says Hirsch.

And unlike the days when constituents writing letters to superintendents were perfectly willing to wait a week or two for a response, "now we send e-mails and expect a response in a couple of hours."

As a result, adds Hirsch, "Superintendents are operating under a whole different level of pressure than ever before."

While CEOs of major corporations who find themselves in similar situations simply hire additional managers to oversee new areas of responsibility, Hirsch says superintendents have to "manage with much leaner resources than anyone in the corporate world."

Technology, he insists, can help them do that. But the key to doing so successfully is for the process to be second nature. "They shouldn't have to think about it," says Hirsch, who sometimes spends his days off consulting with officials in other school districts on technological issues. "It has to be seamless, transparent. No more complicated than sending e-mail."

Utterly Dependent

The School Administrator talked with a number of school leaders, some of whom have worked with Hirsch, for whom the new technology has become an indispensable way of doing business.

Take Tom Trigg, superintendent of the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kan. Trigg is a relative newcomer to the world of hand-held communication devices, having had one for less than a year. But these days, he says, "If I don't have my TREO with me, I feel absolutely inadequate--as if I'm not connected to the world anymore. I've become utterly dependent on texting, e-mailing and using my cell phone virtually 24-7. It's kind of a scary feeling."

Yet Trigg sees a lot of positives in being so connected. "I feel the ability to communicate is right there at my fingertips," he says.

Trigg, in his third year as Blue Valley superintendent, also likes having the ability to access from home his files on everything from student test scores to budget figures. "I view it as a tool that helps me be more efficient and hopefully more effective in what I do," he says.

Another of those tools is the thumb-drive data storage device Trigg took along when he traveled to Washington, D.C., in February to attend a Grade School by Design Conference sponsored by the American Architectural Foundation. On his device: a PowerPoint presentation on the new high school the school district will open in 2010. Trigg admitted being "very comfortable" making the presentation, which included schematics of the site and floor plans, a design layout, animations and even a video of a flyover of the building site.

Community Access

Don Phillips, superintendent of the Poway Unified School District in San Diego County, Calif., can remember when technology was barely a blimp on the screen of his typical day. When he assumed his first superintendency in 1990, he did have a computer in his office. "It seemed as if a superintendent should have a computer," Phillips recalls.

But he only turned it on once every several months, "just to see if there was any e-mail."

Today, he notes, "We're plugged in all the time." Phillips carries a cell phone and a TREO wherever he goes and describes himself as a big fan of all the technology now at his fingertips.

Phillips particularly likes having new, more efficient ways to communicate with parents and others in the community. That includes the school district's monthly newsletter, which is automatically sent electronically to 20,000 recipients. It focuses on the big issues facing the school district, such as those surrounding the opening of a new high school. "Historically," says Phillips, "We'd have sent out a newsletter once or twice a year."

A "hot topics" link on the district's website also helped get out information about the new high school and, specifically, a proposal to redraw high school boundaries once it opens in 2009. Phillips said posting the findings of an advisory committee that drew up the proposal as well as the rationale and specifics of the plan helped allay fears about what could have become "a dicey issue."

An even more immediate way to communicate with the public is the district's Connect-Ed service, a school-to-parent communication system that allows principals and administrators to schedule, send and track phone messages to parents and staff. Phillips said in the event of an emergency, the system could dial all 33,000 district families within 10 minutes. Some district principals used the system earlier this year to get information out to parents about reports that a stranger had tried to entice a child into his car.

Superintendents also say their handheld devices let them communicate faster than ever before with school board members. "I can call one number, type in an access code and then send a voice mail message directly to my board members," says Otto. "Within seconds they get a message on their cell phones or wherever they want it." That way, in the event of an emergency or other crisis, "they hear about it from me first. And that's important, because if they don't, they wonder, 'why not?'"

Managing E-mail

Monte Moses, superintendent of the Cherry Creek Schools in the Denver, Colo., area, has had to find an efficient and effective way to handle an ever-increasing amount of e-mail. "I find that people are more likely to send me an email with some idea, thought or concern than to call me on the phone or send a snail mail-type letter," says Moses.

It's not unusual for him to get as many as 100 e-mail messages a day with the number increasing dramatically when a controversial issue arises. "For me, that's meant getting up to speed using an e-mail device," he says, referring to the TREO he often uses to download messages whenever and wherever he finds himself with a few free minutes.

When a big issue results in an avalanche of e-mail, he relies on an office assistant to help him organize it. "We treat each one like a phone call," he says.

Moses, who has worked 16 years in the district and the last eight as superintendent, finds e-mail messages often reflect a greater sense of urgency than phone messages. "Sometimes they're written in a moment of heat and have a sharper edge than a voice mail message," he says. "People are sometimes a little more abrasive in e-mail than they would be in a telephone contact." Because of that, Moses says it's sometimes difficult to accurately gauge the level of concern of the person sending the message. "You have to follow up and make a personal contact."

Moses also uses his TREO to access the Internet. Last winter, for example, the weather in Colorado was unusually volatile. Being able to access weather forecasting websites even when out of the office was a big timesaver, he says.

The device also has become a depository for his calendar, contact information and other data. "It's especially helpful on weekends when I'm not in the office or don't have an office assistant there to help me," Moses says.

Leading the Way

Paula Gault, superintendent of the Forsyth County Schools just outside of Atlanta, Ga., has had her BlackBerry since she took that job six years ago. She agrees the device not only saves time, but also "helps keep me connected."

But Gault says there's another reason she's worked hard to become comfortable using technology as she goes about her job: The school district places a high priority on using technology as an instructional tool. And as superintendent, she says, "I can't expect other folks to do things I'm not doing myself."

Forsyth County's 28 schools feature interactive whiteboards in every classroom. Teachers are issued notebook computers and have access to telephones with voice mail. At paperless school board meetings, board members work off of computer screens rather than with traditional packets

bulging with printed material. Maintenance men access work orders through Palm Pilots.

"It's just the way we do business," says Gault, whose district has been recognized by the Center for Digital Education in conjunction with the National School Boards Association for its use of technology. "The expectation is that our staff out in the schools is going to use the technology that's available to them to improve instruction, and so it's important that I model the use of the technology that's available to me."

James Phares, superintendent of the Marion County, W.Va., School District, says working on his TREO is like "having an office in my pocket." He uses it to make and receive phone calls, access and send e-mail, keep track of his daily schedule and take notes on school walkthroughs. It's loaded with all the information he needs to contact key school district personnel and also takes photos, which Phares says is a nice extra feature.

When he's out of town, Phares' TREO keeps him connected. Once when he was in Miami, he was notified of a bomb threat at one of his schools. "I was able to text message directions to members of my staff who needed direction," he said, noting that the bomb threat turned out to be unfounded.

Principals in Marion County also carry TREOs. Theirs are loaded with special software that allows them to create student databases and teacher evaluations. "If a principal sees a child in the hallway, he can call up his schedule and find out where he's supposed to be," said Phares. TREOs also streamline the teacher evaluation process. "Principals go into a classroom, observe a teacher and create an evaluation on the spot," he said. "Then, back in the office, they synch it with their computer."

Phares says principals who are comfortable using the latest technology set a good example. "I like them to be on the leading edge. When teachers see their principal modeling the use of technology, that gives them the impetus to use it as well."

Costs and Connectivity

Thanks to all the security measures built into the new technology, superintendents say they are convinced school district data is adequately protected. Phares, for example, points out that his TREO is password protected. What's more, he adds, "If someone tampers with the password to get at the data, the same program that encrypts it takes steps to contaminate the file."

According to Hirsch, it costs, on average, between $40 and $50 a month more to run a hand-held digital device, such as a BlackBerry or a TREO, than a cell phone. "The question," he says, "is whether that investment of no more than $600 per year is worth your superintendent being notified immediately of potential issues that could impact the life of a student or a staff member or even a board member's continued support." In Hirsch's view, that kind of benefit is priceless and, as a result, "that monthly amount seems like a small price in return."

Hirsch points out that school districts may quality for discounts under the federal E-rate program to support some of this new technology. That includes wireless Internet-access service for portable devices such as BlackBerrys or TREOs. (The devices themselves typically are not eligible for E-rate funding.) But Hirsch said whether a district qualifies depends, in part, on its own policies regarding technology use.

All this increased connectivity, of course, begs the question of whether round-the-clock accessibility is actually all that desirable.

"I do find it's a stressor," says Cherry Creek's Moses. "But superintendents never want to feel like they don't know what's going on. It's better to know than not know, especially when things get intense."

Trigg, from Blue Valley, Kan., is squarely in that camp. "I don't view it as a burden at all, though I know it can get out of balance," he says, referring to the degree to which he's come to rely on his TREO. "But it's almost a lifeline for me to know that I can be apprised of any kind of urgent or emergency situation immediately."

Marion County's Phares agrees that timely access is critical. "When it comes to today's superintendents, it's essential. It's the name of the game."

RELATED ARTICLE: A blogger's life in the leadership ranks.

When it comes to using new technology to communicate with constituents, Mark J. Stock, superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation in Syracuse, Ind., is on the cutting edge. He's also an online presence, one of a handful of superintendent bloggers in the country.

Stock's personal web log, dubbed "Wawascene," has been up and running just over two years. He posts new material daily, and in most cases, invites readers to comment on what he's had to say. Stock estimates that on an average day, about 2,000 visitors access the site, with roughly 35 percent of them saying they visit every day.

"I think it's changing the nature of communication in our community," says Stock, who has been superintendent in Wawasee for 11 years. "It's flattening our organizational structure and gives everyone a voice. People who are afraid to come see the superintendent because they might be intimidated (still) feel they know me."

Stock's blog, which can be accessed at www.wawasee.blogspot.com, is an eclectic mix of everything from school district announcements to human interest stories--including one about his mother--to analyses of pending legislation and school sports updates. Once Stock was able to get out the facts on a lockdown at a middle school before unfounded rumors were able to spread. In January, he blogged from a local hospital after a bus accident, letting readers know there had been no serious injuries. Stock ends the week with a "Friday Funny," some sort of joke or light-hearted anecdote.

"People don't know what they're going to find when they get to the blog," says Stock. "Usually it's at least tangentially related to education, but sometimes not."

Stock also served as a chronicler of sorts at AASA's nationat conference in New Orleans in March, where he posted his daily observations on his favorite presenters and his impressions of the city and its people. (His blog, "Taking Stock at the AASA Conference," can be found at www.aasaconf.blogspot.com).

An Authentic Voice

Stock, who is writing a book on blogging, says blogs are most successful when written in an "authentic voice" that reveals something about the blogger, such as his or her sense of humor. "Your personality has to come through," he says.

Bloggers also have to be careful not to use their blogs as an electronic newsletter. "As a PR tool, it doesn't work" Stock says. "People won't read it any more than something you send home in a backpack." A blog differs from a website in that it is less formal and includes information and links that change more frequently.

Traffic on the Wawascene site soared in February after Stock made what turned out to be a controversial decision to keep district schools open despite the fact that neighboring districts were closing their doors due to severe weather. According to Stock, 27,820 visitors accessed the site that day. Some of those visitors reacted strongly, in some cases lacing their comments with profanity and producing what Stock called a "Jerry Springer atmosphere."

"I blew it," Stock admitted in a blog entry Later that day. "As many commentators have pointed out, some politely and some not so politely, there should have been at least a two-hour delay today without any question. ... I made a bad call no matter how you look at it."

Although some visitors said they appreciated Stock owning up to his mistake, others were not so forgiving. "Excuse me sir, but did you even look out your window?" read one comment. "You put the lives of every student, teacher and parent in jeopardy, and respond with an 'I blew it: How about next time you just do the job you are paid so well to do."

Moderating Speech

Ultimately, Stock established a set of BIog Rules, which are posted at the site: "Comments should be respectful and pertain to the topic posted. Comments about personnel matters should be made directly to the administrators responsible. Blog moderators reserve the right to remove any comment determined not in keeping with these guidelines."

In addition, visitors now are only able to comment on "posts that are substantive in nature where a variety of thought and opinion are relevant."

Stock would like to see more superintendent bloggers. He says it's easy and that anyone can be "up and blogging" in 20 minutes. Because the software is free, there's no cost to taxpayers. The biggest benefit, he says, is this: a better-informed constituency, which Stock believes increases the potential for meaningful change.

--Priscilla Pardini

RELATED ARTICLE: For just-in-time answers, superintendents look to the inbox.

Long Island, N.Y., school superintendents are using technology to tap into a valuable source of information: each other's expertise.

The superintendents are participants in Leaders-Net, an electronic discussion forum, or listserve, where they post and respond to e-mail questions from each other about anything from school district policies to recruiting principals.

"Say someone wants to rent out your auditorium" explains John A. Richman, superintendent of the Plainedge, N.Y., Public Schools. "You may be aware of the legal ramifications, but you want to know whether other districts in the area do that, and if so, what they charge. You just send an e-mail out, and within five or 10 minutes you have an answer to your question."

Richman said a popular question posted in February as school officials began the budgeting process was, "Have any of you calculated how much your budget is going up?" In the past, getting an accurate sampling of data would have involved sending out questionnaires or making dozens of phone calls. "This makes life very simple if you just need down-and-dirty information very quickly" he says.

A Popular Tool

Michael Keany is director of the Long Island School Leadership Center, the group that sponsors the listserve. The center is an administrative support group funded by three local Boards of Cooperative Educational Services and several regional universities. Keany says the listserve is popular, noting that 102 of the 114 Long Island school superintendents participate.

Several AASA state affiliates also operate listserves that offer just-in-time support. The Illinois Association of School Administrators may run one of the more widely used multi-way mailing lists for its 1,075 active superintendent members, 46 percent of whom have opted to be included. In mid-March, a superintendent from a small district posted a message late one afternoon about negotiating a new contact for teachers and asked what percentage increase other districts had given in the past year. By noon the following day, a dozen responses had been posted for all to see.

Other Illinois postings in the same week dealt with questions about leasing computer equipment for schools, criminal background checks on building contractors, and a job description for a combined superintendent/ principal position.

Relationship Building

The Long Island center actually runs separate listserves for 38 different groups, including principals, assistant principals, department chairs, minority administrators and aspiring administrators. In all, a total of 5,300 people participate.

Earlier this year, athletic directors conversed on their listserve about the most economical ways to refurbish football helmets, while aspiring administrators perused lists of administrative openings.

Richman, who has been superintendent in Plaineclge for eight years, says he participates in the listserve daily, sometimes accessing his office files from home electronically so he can respond to a coUeague's question in the evening or over a weekend. "Invariably, most of the stuff that comes up, someone else has dealt with at some time," he says.

The listserve also builds collegiality. "Some of these people rye never, ever met personally, but still you're on a first-name basis and feel you know each other" says Richman.

Jo Campbell superintendent in LaHarpe, IlL, feels the same way about the Illinois listserve, which she says has been valuable in "making new contacts with colleagues and maintaining existing networks and friendships."

Richman also appreciates the fact that Keany regularly uses the listserve to disseminate book reviews, relevant newspaper stories and journal articles on a wide range of leadership issues. "It's a good way for us to keep up with what's happening in the field," he says.

According to Keany, the Long Island listserves, which were established in 2003, are funded through a grant from the New York State Legislature. State Sen. Carl L. Marcellino was instrumental in securing the grant, Keany said. Plans are under way to expand the service to the rest of the state.

--Priscilla Pardini

RELATED ARTICLE: Modeling the use of technology.

BY CHRISTOPHER P. CLOUET

All eyes are on me. After all, I'm the superintendent and this is the welcome back to school rally, where allies and skeptics, administrators, teachers, support staff, board members and local politicians all await the beginning of the new school year.

It starts with me--ready to model the use of information technology as I set the tone for the coming academic year.

The rally must be inspiring, informative and entertaining. Above all, to make the connection with the audience, it must flow seamlessly.

Some baby boomer music pulses as people are taking their seats. Earth, Wind and Fire works--and hey, I like it! Flashing stills and video clips of students engaged in learning remind everyone that summer is over, and then the presentation, using a huge overhead screen and uncluttered PowerPoint slides, carries my message about consistency of practice and my theory of action on how meaningful collaboration among the adults results in a more coherent experience for students.

It goes well. Applause and smiles erupt, but how do I know it has worked? Because for weeks afterwards I get requests to meet with others to discuss some of the ideas of the presentation and to develop school-based projects around them.

Public Messages

Effective use of the technology tools both clarify and amplify the message.

Part of my practice is to use technology in a public manner. This takes many forms--sending of regular e-mails to all staff, posting of commentaries on the school district website, producing cable television shows and recording public service announcements on regional radio. I also use technology in other venues such as faculty meetings where I set up and run an LCD unit to clarify and amplify the discussion on my theory of action about my work.

Television still rules, so sometimes the way to go is with traditional technology. When the goal is blanketing the region with your message, cable TV is king. More people see and respond to my television programs than any other form of communication. Media context is essential if I am to have a presence in the community. It seems every anti-tax, anti-government and anti-public school advocate has a talk show, and I need to be in the mix, highlighting students and staff and offering a positive perspective. Interviews with students and staff, tapes of events and documentary evidence of classrooms in action all add to the development of a positive--though not disingenuous--vision of urban education.

Our school district website is a growing success. I receive frequent feedback on my posted commentaries on issues ranging from adopting consistent instructional practices to my theory of action as an educational leader. I've participated in blogs through our local newspapers. People email me to react to a speech I've given on Martin Luther King Jr. or my outlining of a Next Steps perspective for the district. Above all, district policies are posted, as is student work, photos and school news.

Leveraging Excitement

Our School Administrative Student Information system, or SASI, is evolving into an organized structure of many data streams into a single system that allows for users to access, analyze and make critical judgments based on evidence, not anecdotes. My experience as superintendent in another district has helped me to be better prepared through the effective use of data. The Parent Link application, a Voice Over Internet Protocol tool, helps us to maintain easy contact with families through multilingual calls to homes on issues big and small

Via the Waterford Early Reading Program, our youngest students use classroom learning centers to interact with text on a screen as a part of their daily learning as they build literacy skills.

Our students struggle with the effects of poverty in their lives. More than 75 percent qualify for free and reduced Lunch and more than a quarter come from non-English speaking homes. About 80 percent of our students are members of minority groups segregated from our suburban neighbors. New London is labeled an economically distressed municipality. The Lack of resources is a big challenge.

We cannot outfit every classroom with a technology-enriched environment beyond a personal computer for every teacher and pods in the elementary schools. To prevent sinking into a malaise flavored by what we cannot do, I have promoted a Technology Pioneers program. Using our limited resources we leverage the excitement and skills of teachers who are ready to use IT tools in their classrooms. They apply for equipment in return for welcoming colleagues into their classrooms to view effective use of technology.

On the other hand, we recently opened a state-financed Science and Technology Magnet High School enrolling 50 percent urban and 50 percent suburban students. It features a pre-engineering curriculum (Project Lead The Way) and use of a VBrick ethernet for viewing content on PCs, ACTIVboards and whiteboards as well as high resolution and digital microscopes.

We maintain a future-based orientation. We have the good fortune to work with researcher Don Leu of the University of Connecticut and his team on studies of how middle school students react to text on screen. We believe this partnership will allow us to design meaningful computer-based curricula.

Being Prepared

As a lecturer at University of Connecticut, I use Taskstream, a cyberspace environment for interacting with students around texts, projects and ideas. I believe it represents a step toward how many courses, at all levels, will eventually be organized.

We must educate and guide our students in a manner that prepares them for the unforeseen opportunities they will encounter. Being cognizant of and acknowledging such unanticipated opportunities is important. With this in mind, I feel we should resist adopting the swagger some tech experts exhibit.

My professional practice is about student achievement. Using technology to provide students with tools that clarify and amplify instruction is at the core of making it happen.

Christopher Clount is superintendent of the New London Public Schools, 134 Williams St., New London, CT 06320. E-mail: [e-mail]

RELATED ARTICLE: Public podcasts: a superintendent reaches the digital natives.

BY JAY HAUGEN

"Hello. My name is Jay Haugen. I am the superintendent of the West St. Paul, Mendota Heights and Eagan area schools. It is Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006, and I am at my home computer recording what is called a podcast ..."

So began my venture into the world of digital broadcasting, a world that enables anyone with a home computer and a decent microphone to communicate with words, music, pictures, art and video for about as much effort as it takes to write an article.

People can subscribe to podcasts, but unlike the local newspaper they don't have to wait for delivery--podcasts show up on their computers the instant they are available. They download much like a song on a CD so anyone with an iPod or other MP3 can automatically download them to their devices and then listen while they're doing something else, like driving or walking or eating. Because they can be archived and easily searched, those with an interest in a particular topic can listen to a podcast weeks or months later.

Immediacy Valued

I decided to try podcasting as a way of connecting with digital natives, that growing proportion of our population for whom digital communication is a way of life. Digital natives carry multiple communication devices at all times, get their news from online sites and blogs and put paper communication in the same category previous generations put vinyl records.

Podcasting also has proven to be an effective way to share time-sensitive information. Recently, when we announced $1.6 million in budget reductions, I was able to explain why in the next day's podcast. Staff members and parents without iPods listened on their computers, and I found the immediacy of this form of communication helped them understand why difficult decisions were made and lessened the fear that inevitably accompanies budget cuts.

If you are not a digital native, your head may be spinning at the thought of podcasting. Once you get the hang of it, though, it's truly not that hard. Most Sunday nights I sit down at my computer and write a message for the community to hear on Monday morning. After my thoughts are on paper, I open Garage Band, a program that came preloaded on my Apple computer that allows me to record my voice. The microphone is next to my computer, partially buried in a pillow to reduce the "inside a bowl" effect. When I'm ready, I simply push the record button on the Garage Band screen and start talking.

After the recording, I play my words back to hear if they are acceptable. Invariably, I will have misspoken or don't like the inflection in my voice at some point so I rerecord the objectionable parts and cut and paste them into the original--a simple task in Garage Band.

Next I add photos by dragging them from a digital photo album or from e-mail attachments sent by staff members. In as little as 30 minutes, I can record and edit the sound for that week's podcast and add one or more pictures.

All that is left is to publish it to the district's website, the easiest part. One of the choices in Garage Band is to send to iWeb, another program that came preloaded on my Apple. When I launch iWeb, it puts my podcast in a template. I fill in a title, add captions and a description of the podcast, check my work, and hit publish. One minute later it is published to my iMac account and sent to subscribers. On Monday morning, we place a link on the district website so it can be accessed by everyone.

Growing Popularity

So far, I have recorded 15 podcasts, each about five minutes long. At every community event I attend, I field multiple inquiries, statements and questions about my podcasts. Subjects have included referendum information, mandatory testing, school funding, the importance of early learning, budget cuts, open houses and celebrations of accomplishments in our schools.

My listeners are primarily those who connect better with spoken words than written ones, who tell me they sense more sincerity when they actually get to hear information. In some respects, their remarks remind me of the feelings my parents had when they listened to FDR's fireside chats.

The provider of our district website recently added support for direct publishing of podcasts. Although I have enjoyed sitting over a microphone after everyone in my house is tucked into bed on Sunday night, it's nice to have the option of podcasting from my office on Friday afternoon. We also see video podcasting in our future since it is just as easy as what we are doing now.

If you haven't yet experienced a podcast, I invite you to listen to mine at web.mac. com/jckhaugen. You also can access it at www.isd197.org if you'd like to see how it is integrated on our district's website.

"Thank you for listening to this week's podcast, and join me again soon for our next broadcast. Have a great day."

Jay Haugen is superintendent of Independent School District 197 (West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan), 1897 Delaware Ave., Mendota Heights, MN 55118. E-mail: [e-mail]

Priscilla Pardini is a freelance education writer in Shorewood, Wis. E-mail: [e-mail]