PTA Technology Corner

I was asked yesterday by a reader of the PTA Tech Corner how I create this and other websites.  Good question.  While my business (TargetX.com) - aka “the full time gig” - manages electronic campaigns and does a little bit of web work for colleges and university, those are much more sophisticated than many organizations need.

I built and currently manage many websites that utilize the same setup:

• Central Elementary School PTA
• Haddonfield High School PTA
• Wedgewood Swim Club
• The Gymnastics and Cheerleading Academy
• MichaelVitez.com
• Haddon Field Club
• First Baptist Church of Haddonfield

These are all either organizations my family is involved in (my step-son’s and daughter’s school PTAs, the gym my daughter went to, the swim club we hope to join some day, the place my wife plays tennis some times, etc.) or for friends (the great Rocky storyteller and journalist, a friend’s church and employer).  I normally set these up and then give them the keys to the kingdom along with a “hit by the bus” folder (usernames, passwords, contact information, etc. in case something would happen to me).

So how do I set these up?  I use the same hosting company for all of them - not only do I like them, their prices are right and dealing with one company is a lot easier on me - and since I don’t accept payment from any of these folks, making it easier for me is a high priority.  There are many hosting companies out there but I’ve been using 1and1.com since around 1997 - later they conveniently setup operations near me in suburban Philadelphia.

To run the site I use a free blog software called Wordpress.  Now you need a little technical help to get it setup on your own hosting company and to manipulate the template to get it to look just right.  So Wordpress setup a hosting service at Wordpress.com to make it a little easier.  You don’t get all the capabilities if you were to host it yourself, but it’s a good start.  

The reason I use Wordpress is that it provides a very user-friendly interface for folks to update the website. They don’t have to learn HTML and they don’t need to know such things as FTP, PHP, etc. - Wordpress handles all of that in the background.  Also we can setup different user access permissions - so they don’t mess up the site!  There are also tons of templates to choose from that people have created and offer for free on the Internet for Wordpress.  

Hope this helps get your organization started.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me by submitting a comment to this post.  I’m glad to help.  And if you have any suggestions for folks reading this, by all means, contribute to the discussion!

My full-time job is as the owner of a college marketing firm, TargetX. We work with over 450 colleges and universities helping them craft and execute their recruiting efforts. And for almost the past 20 years I’ve been on the other side of the table from parents and future college students. But this year it’s my turn.

I write another blog called “The Recruiting Revolution” about the changes happening in the college search process. Much of this change is attributed to the Internet as well as unique traits of this Millennial generation.

Today began my posts about my step-son, Julius’ search for the perfect college. I welcome you to visit my other blog if you have a high school student at home. It’s going to be a long journey but well worth the effort put into it.

I’ve mentioned before one of my favorite podcasts is from the TWIT (This Week in Technology) crew lead by Leo Laporte called Jumping Monkeys and hosted by Megan Marrone.

It’s all about parenting in the technology age and they have great ideas and advice to new and not-so-new parents.

A couple of weeks ago I was honored to be on their show to discuss the PTA Technology Corner and today the episode was posted online for folks to download.

Click here to listen to it directly online or get links to the iTunes free download subscription

I had the pleasure of joining my daughter’s girl scouts today at a tea party in our town - twenty-seven 8-year-old girls, a few moms and me. Did I feel out of place? Not at all - it was a lot of fun and the girls were great.

Before tea was served, the troop leader asked each person individually to mention what they would like for Christmas. It was very interesting, so I took notes for all of you (and Santa):

Nintendo Wii. Well, if you haven’t purchased it before Thanksgiving, it’s going to be difficult to find. Almost every child wanted one of these - 89% of them! We just purchased one for a friend (who doesn’t have a computer at home and couldn’t find one in the store) for his son for Christmas. We got it on eBay for $475 - which is $225 more than the list price. I did, however, find a website that will help you find a Wii if it’s on your daughter’s list (and chances are it is) - click here for the secrets!

Apple iPods. Anyone surprised? Actually, I was surprised how many did NOT already have one. 85% of this group wants one. Did anyone mention a Zune or a Creative Zen MP3 player? Nope. All iPods. I was at the Apple Store today at Noon on a Tuesday and I saw about eight mom’s looking at all the cute little iPods for gifts. They are hard to resist! Want to save a little bit? Ask at the store if they have any “refreshed” units - these are simply iPods that were returned unopened and put back on sale at a discount. Or check out Amazon.com for a few dollars off new units.

Cellphones. Yup. 26% of these 8 year olds want a cellphone. Well, we think it’s a little too early for us to get our daughter one, but it’s on their minds. If only cellphones came with free replacements when they lose, drop or break them. But it is the greatest device to stay in touch with our kids when we’re not being a physical helicopter parent.

Webkinz. Just about everyone wants one of these - I think I counted 100%. And let’s not forget, the point of a webkin isn’t the toy necessarily, it’s the social networking that happens online with it! But my daughter tells me the toy is nice too

Computer laptop. This one surprised me. They don’t just want a computer (in their room of course), they want a laptop. 20% of them specifically mentioned a laptop. How technologically savvy of them! Be sure to check out the post below regarding the Get One. Give One. campaign (that was recently extended through the end of December) if you’re thinking of something unique that is also a gift for someone in need. Biggest issue here for young children and a laptop is probably durability.

Ok, those where by far the top five requests of these girls. A couple of them mentioned trampolines and one mentioned a book. But do you see anything in common with the list above? This is the most wired generation in history. Are you prepared to help them out when they get stuck?

Looking for a computer for your young child at home? How does “for free” sound? Well, not exactly, but you’d be doing someone a favor by participating in the limited-time “Give one. Get One” campaign run by the “One Laptop per Child” effort.

The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.

You may have seen the ads on TV:

The founder reminds us that the program is not all about laptops, but rather about education. However, it looks like a pretty cool laptop too!

To learn more about the one laptop per child program, go to http://www.laptop.org.

Last night I went to my daughter’s 3rd grade “Back to School Night” and was approached by a few parents about the status of this blog.  It seems that there were more readers than I knew!

So, we’re bringing it back!  Every Sunday I’ll try to post something that helps parents understand, appreciate or warn about related to their children and technology.  If you have any suggestions, just let me know.

And if you run a PTA organization, you are welcome (at no cost) to include our content in your newsletters or website.  We only ask that you also provide a link to this website when you do so.  We appreciate the traffic!

We hope over the past school year we’ve been able to educate or at least enlighten each of you with respect to technology and your children. We’ve also spent time providing advice on to how to keep your children and your computer safe. To round out the school year, we thought it would be best to give each of you a little homework - we’ll call it a technology to do list - and we encourage you to take each seriously:

Browse Safer
Stop using Internet Explorer. Make the switch and download Firefox. It’s safer, updated more frequently, and more compliant. A new version of IE is coming out (currently in beta) but when we actually see the final version along with the delivery of the next Windows operating system, Vista, this is a great place to begin. And check right now - do you have an anti-virus program running? Is your firewall turned on?

Time to Switch
Ok, call me biased, but if you’re trying to avoid viruses, spam, pop-up windows, etc. don’t just upgrade the browser, switch to a Mac. I use Windows, Macs and Unix almost everyday - and it’s no contest. The price is right, the speed is right, the software is there and the support is the industry’s best. Go visit an Apple store and stop worrying anymore.

PLOS
Start using Instant Messaging with your children, friends, colleagues, neighbors (ok, maybe not your neighbors - spend some time on the porch with them instead It’s easy, fun and you’ll start to understand why kids use it so much these days. Oh, and by the way, PLOS stands for “Parent Looking Over Shoulder” - got to know this stuff folks!

The New Radio
Did you know that there are now over 60,000 “shows” available for free to download to your computer when they are available for you to listen to when you’re available? They’re called “podcasts” and they are starting to chip away from radio listenership. To get started, download iTunes at iTunes.com. Click on the Music Store and then the Podcasts items. Search for your hobbies, sports teams, your alma mater. And you don’t need an iPod to listen to them either (but it doesn’t hurt).

And Finally …
Know what your kids are doing on MySpace and other social networks. Read this article in Information Week. It’s not all that bad, but needs your attention. Want to learn more, read “Protecting Teens Online,” a report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. 73% of families have their computer in a public place in their home. Where’s your computer? 64% of parents set rules about their children’s time on the computer including when and where they can go online. 79% of teens (not parents) think teens are not careful enough when giving out information online. Some basic structure can go along way to protecting your children online and make it a very useful medium in their lives.

And keep the conversation going over the summer. We’ll be here and we’ll keep you up to date on what’s going on that you need to know about at the PTA Technology Corner!