Friday, November 3, 2017

Modernizing BVSD's Digital Communications



As technology continues its rapid advance, digital communications are taking on a new level of importance. In order to fully utilize these tools, BVSD is officially embarking on an update and modernization of our communication avenues and we need your help. This effort will impact all of our student, parent, and employee communications, including district websites, mobile apps, branding, and logos, so we need your feedback. Our goal will be to establish modern, consistent and accessible communications with all stakeholders, including those with visual, audio or other disabilities.


We recognize that this will be a significant undertaking. For this reason BVSD has contracted with a company that specializes in the understanding of digital communications. iFactory has worked with several educational facilities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Chicago, Colorado State University, and Perkins School for the Blind to redesign their digital communications, and they will be working with us this school year.


DSC00514.JPGAs a part of iFactory’s work, focus groups surveys will help  gather input about what is working well and what needs still exist.  Through this process we will hear from all of our stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The input from these groups, along with iFactory’s expertise, will provide us with a framework to redesign our digital communications with a focus on meeting the needs of our all of our users.


Our work with iFactory is only the first phase in a large scale project that will likely take 2-4 years to complete. I recognize that this may seem like a long path, but because this is such a big venture, we want to ensure we do a quality job from the beginning.


We value your input!

We need your feedback throughout this entire process, but most importantly during this initial phase. Our work with iFactory will set the stage for the rest of our work -- giving us a clear path forward as we move into implementation. If you are asked to participate in a focus group, please join! When you get the survey -- please give us honest answers. Additionally, if you have thoughts that you would like to share, please leave a comment below.

Andrew