We didn’t try doing AMAs on Zoom but the webinars got good attendance overall (we had a few that were extremely popular). This is one of the reasons why we thought of doing something specially designed for parents.
I want to stress one thing though: although numbers are important, they’re not the sole measure of success. The amount of information we got on the last webinar for example (i.e. the one done with students) is tremendous. We are sharing that across our channels so that lots of students find guidance from those stories. For us that’s the biggest win.
I was also thinking that when someone answers a question. Like you could have MIT parent if you choose if that is a category. Or stem professor.
And when you answer a mit question the op or students will know the background is valid and answer is based on demonstrated experience. Versus now. And no one has to do anything is they prefer not to of course.
They can be sought out as well but thinking it could be helpful in the general flow of the day to day posts.
The process doesn’t to be daunting. It can be choose from list. The cc folks already have our names and email addresses. You attach a cv or professional certificate. And you go. Cc could audit some or all everyone knows they might be audited. If caught being disingenuous you are banne for the site. Like tax compliance. Random audit. No one wants to get caught. Maybe. A special pinned post listing all banned posters from this process like being disbarred.
Thanks for the explanation. I’m kind of Zoom’d and webinar’d out (I have attended many as part of my job). I know that I wouldn’t be interested, as I like to read and respond on message boards at my convenience. Zoom meetings and webinars often take up more time than the value of the information given. JMO
Personally, I’ve always found the value of this sight to be the anonymity and the wide range of opinions. I wouldn’t want a single “expert” rather than 50 posters giving their advice to help the original poster determine their own solution.
I wouldn’t want Webinars either. Sometimes I think it’s best to leave things as they are. I understand organizations need to change and modernize, but this format works. Giving parents a place to ask for advise anonymously also serves to protect the privacy of their kids. I would never be comfortable talking about my kid with strangers on a Webinar.
@csfmap, we wouldn’t be taking the forums experience away. The webinars would be an addition for parents who like to consume visual/audio content (rather than written).
I understood that. I stand by the opinion I expressed. I don’t think more is better, or that this site can meet everyone’s needs. I think it’s hard to do many things well and it seems the focus should be on improving the site for readers instead of trying to expand to those who prefer visual/audio.
Meanwhile, we began a few other initiatives that don’t require development work. Things like the student of the week and webinars have been fairly successful. Other ideas have not worked out so well. So we’re trying to do more of the initiatives that get a positive response while ending initiatives that aren’t well-received.
So what does all this mean for you? Well, if there aren’t enough parents interested in the webinar, we won’t do it. If people don’t watch the first webinar, we won’t do a second one. That may be fine for you, but it would be disappointing for people who would benefit from hearing from parents.
It would be disappointing for me if nobody steps up, but it makes no difference one way or another when it comes to improving the forums. That work is almost entirely independent from the webinar series. It’s not as if we are having developers work on the webinar or whatnot. From our perspective, giving parents another platform to share their knowledge is not taking away from the forums. In fact, our goal is to direct more people back to the great information already on the forums so that your contributions will be useful for even more people.
Which initiatives haven’t worked out (were not “well-received”)?
Has anyone stepped up to be the “core team”? What I’m not sure you are understanding is that the parents here came here to participate in discussions online in the message board format. I guess I’m just not understanding why time-crunched parents would want to watch webinars, when they could get a wider variety of responses from reading responses on your forum. ?
If the Zoom meetings happened, then this aspect must be crucial. I have read many posts by certain people who post on multiple threads at all hours of the day…and many of those posts are just opinions that everyone else then takes as fact. No expertise, just a lot of talking based on feelings or a conversation with one person from four weeks ago…that kind of thing. That is how misinformation spreads. So if there is going to be a panel of any kind, or anyone at all saying they have any kind of actual knowledge on a topic, then I would respectfully ask that the cc mods vet the people on the panel up, down, and sideways.
@JanieWalker makes some good points about vetting the experts on the panels. But if CC ends up being very picky and only wanting professionals, then consider whether said professionals are going to want to do it for free. For instance, is Sally Rubenstone volunteering to be on one of your panels? There are some professional college counselors on CC, I believe. Have you asked them if they want to be panelists for free?
I would suggest to run it like they do Junior year at my kids high schools. They have University of Chicago reps do the introductions and overview then there is a panel of parents with “experience”. So they have been through the process, not self proclaimed experts. The “experts” usually handle the financial questions on costs, aid, scholarships etc. The parents review the approach, what the year is like. The essays, application, etc etc with the “experts” "filling in the blanks. It’s a 2 hour session with questions from the audience. In fact it’s alot of questions from the audience.
It actually is very informative. There is an overview given when you come to the class meeting but you can email to those that sign up. One school does a month to month of what to expect and all deadlines given through out the whole junior and senior year.
There is always a parent with an Ivy kid, one big ten, one lac and they talk about the differences and experiences
Might be informative to have a kid that has been through the process also… Or not…
