The Virtual Academy

1. The Virtual Academy John A. Coverstone, AuD Minnesota Academy of Audiology Chair, AAA State Network Committee

2. What are the Goals of a State Academy?

3. Goal 1: Increase Membership • Objective: Increase revenues • Allows academy to achieve many of its goals/objectives • Enables Academy to do more • Objective: Make organization more effective/powerful • Higher representation of Audiologists (one voice) • Greater lobbying force • Academy becomes a hub for professional communication

4. Goal 2: Inform & Educate Members • Objective: Inform Membership • Create awareness of beneficial opportunities • Alert membership as to professional threats • Objective: Maintain/raise competency in Audiology • Keep members practicing at a high level • Bring new procedures / methods / tools to members • Objective: Obtain required continuing education • Conduit for maintaining licensure / certification

5. Goal 3: Promote Audiology • Objective: Communicate with other healthcare professions • Collaborate on legislative issues • Raise awareness for referring to Audiologists • Objective: Market the profession to the general public • Create / maintain positive image of the profession • Drive patients to seek Audiology care • Objective: Provide media relations for Audiology • Same benefits as promoting Audiology to the public

6. Goal 4: Regulate & monitor Audiology • Objective: Lead efforts to guide licensure changes • Objective: Protect Audiology from legislative threats • Objective: Create, update, & monitor professional standards • Objective: Provide guidance and monitor professional activities (legal / ethical)

7. Which of these require communication? • Increasing membership • Informing / educating members • Promoting Audiology to other professions / to public • Leading efforts to regulate and monitor Audiology

8. The Role of Communicationin a State Academy

9. What is the purpose of communication? • Share ideas • Coordinate goals and actions • Educate / raise level of knowledge • Commiserate (fill social / emotional needs) • Increase efficiency / reduce redundancy in [collaborative] efforts

10. In what ways do we communicate? • Voice / verbally • Auditory / non-verbal (e.g. - music) • Gestures / nonverbally • Written words • Pictures Virtual technology is all about communicating!

11. Communicating VirtuallyorVirtually Communicating?

12. How do we communicate virtually? • Telephone (verbal) • Direct conversations • Teleconferences • Video conferencing (verbal, non-verbal, written, pictures) • Video phones (not common) • Web meetings • Webinars

13. How do we communicate virtually? • E-mail (written, sometimes pictures) • Individual messages • Distribution lists / group mailing • ListServ services • Web Sites (written, pictures, sometimes verbal/sound) We all use some forms of virtual communication already. How can we make these work better for our academies?

14. Teleconferencing • The Technology • Voice-only • Available at no charge, if willing to dial long-distance • Pay services are available, but can add up

15. Teleconferencing • Benefits • Allows more people to participate from a wider area • Reduces the cost of communication • Transportation costs • Time away from work / family • Members may have more time for meeting, instead of driving • Uses • Committee meetings • Board meetings • Member Q&A sessions

16. Web Meetings • The Technology • Paid internet service – as low as $50/month • Attendees may use cameras for face-to-face communication • Slides, documents, photos, computer screens may all be shared during the meeting • Intended for small groups (often up to 15 people)

17. Web Meetings • Benefits • Allows participation from anywhere with web access • Reduces the cost of attending meetings • Transportation costs • Time away from work / family • Members may have more time for meeting, instead of driving • Printing and duplication costs • Allows visualization of speakers (need web cameras) • Allows sharing of materials (electronic) • Is a “green” way to meet!

18. Web Meetings • Uses • Committee meetings • Board meetings • Member Q&A sessions • Meetings with organizations outside your academy

19. Chat Technology • The Technology • Allows text-based communication in real-time • Included with many web hosting packages

20. Chat Technology • Benefits • More persistent than phone or videoconferencing • Can look back to what someone previously wrote • Can archive text for later searching • Provides a complete written record of meeting • However, this method of communication can be difficulty to follow and lacks the “human” element • Uses • Meetings / forums • Educational events

21. E-mail • The Technology • Allows rapid communication (when users are checking messages) • Can be scaled to meet the needs of the organization • Person-to-person (essentially no cost) • Distribution lists (may be some cost) • ListServ server (may be substantial cost) • Warning: keeping e-mail address lists up-to-date can be a challenge!

22. E-mail • Benefits • Can reach many people quickly • Reaches members when they are not expecting communication (no need to schedule anything) • Nearly all professionals have addresses

23. E-mail • Uses • Action alerts • Academy updates and notices • Electronic newsletter or mini-newsletters (think: AT Extra) • Reminders for important deadlines (membership dues, conference registrations, etc.) • E-mails may be used to send information TO the academy also • Legislative alerts • Member requests

24. Webinar Technology • The Technology • Paid internet service – as low as $100/month • May include internet-based meeting capabilities • Intended for larger groups (up to 1000 people) • Includes many of the same capabilities & tools as web meeting software, however is targeting toward education • Many packages include the ability to get feedback and/or poll attendees

25. Webinar Technology • Benefits • Allows your academy to reach larger groups without the expenses of travel • Meeting place • Fuel / lodging / meals for distant members • Time • Anyone with a computer / internet service can attend from the comfort of their home or office • May allow your academy to increase educational opportunities to membership • May allow more frequent interaction with membership

26. Webinar Technology • Uses • Educational events • Virtual “town hall” meetings • Roll-out of new academy campaigns

27. Web Sites • Technology • Low cost – web hosting can be purchased for $10/month • However, labor costs may be significant if a sympathetic programmer is not available • Very standardized (if done well) • Can be very powerful, particularly when paired with a database

28. Web Sites • Benefits • Information may be stored for a long period of time • Accessible to virtually everyone • Provides an interactive medium for communication without academy staff/volunteers present • Can present many (all) of an academy’s objectives, information, and activites to the user - all in one place

29. Web Sites • Uses • Current news and events • Store information about the academy (who, what, where, when, and how) • Allow public to locate member audiologists (“Find An Audiologist”) • Post legislative updates and resources to support them (letters, legislator contact information) • Provide a source for professional resources (links) • Inform the public about audiology, hearing, balance • Archive conference materials (becomes a benefit of registration)

30. Web Sites • Uses • Online dues payment and conference registration • Post committee and Board reports • Member-only content (increases value of membership) • Archive newsletters • Have interactive section(s) to allow members to exchange information or ask questions • Media Center • Press releases • Information about audiology, hearing loss, dizziness, balance • Assistance finding audiologists to contact for news stories

31. Using Virtual Technology to Achieve the Goals of Your Academy

32. Goal 1: Increase Membership • What increases membership? • Keeping members involved and informed • Providing resources that are not available elsewhere • How can virtual technology help achieve this goal? • Make communication more accessible and easier • Provide member-only resources

33. Goal 2: Inform & Educate Members • How can virtual technology better inform and educate your members? • Promote more frequent interaction • Allow more timely distribution of information • Decrease costs associated with communication

34. Goal 3: Promote Audiology • How can virtual technology better promote audiology in your state? • Provide information about audiologists to the public and to other professionals • Notify the public or other professionals of events • Distribute materials electronically

35. Goal 4: Regulate & monitor Audiology • How can virtual technology help your academy to assist with legislative and monitoring activities? • Send action alerts to membership (or all audiologists) • Receive alerts to legislative threats • Have a web section for legislators and drive them to it • Allow submission of questionable practices

36. A few things to remember

37. Don’t forget… • Technology exists to make communication easier and more robust and to enable communication with more people

38. Don’t forget… • There is still no substitute for face-to-face communication

39. Don’t forget… • You are not supposed to be the experts on technology. Find someone you trust and with whom you feel comfortable working.

40. When considering any of these tools, think about the following: • What communication need are we trying to fulfill? • What goal of our academy are we attempting to meet? • Does this tool best meet those needs and help us achieve that goal?