The Yearbook World of Scott Geesey
from Jostens Yearbooks of central/northern Pennsylvania
ARCHIVE - MARCH 15, 2020
LET'S TURN THIS LEMON INTO LEMONADE: Dealing with the Coronavirus Situation
Hello! Let's start with the good news - spring officially arrives on the calendar this week.
And then there's the rest. Everyone is pretty stunned over the current coronavirus situation across the country, with schools and some businesses closed seemingly everywhere.
I'm saddened that many events are now postponed or canceled. The annual Pennsylvania School Press Association (PSPA) state finals at Penn State University Park next week are off. Hopefully the PSPA board will be able to put together a remote way for the finalists to compete in their various competitions this year.
All the sports schedules, PIAA championships, school musicals, field trips - if you're like me you're wondering how ALL of this could have happened.
But it's happened, so now what?
What can we learn - and do - from this extreme situation?
As I compose this, schools across Pennsylvania are beginning a mandatory two week break because of the virus. This is unprecedented - even the worst winter blizzard or fall hurricane would only interrupt schools for a few days.
And of course, a blizzard or hurricane wouldn't threaten to sicken hundreds or thousands of people, even if this illness would be minor for nearly all folks. My fear is that nearly everyone will hunker down at home during this time and many businesses will suffer.
In my case - last weekend I immediately went out and bought a pizza at a local shop. I asked the owners - you folks are staying open, right? Thankfully "YES" was the answer.
So what do we do in this unique situation? What can be learned? What can be DONE? Let's run some thoughts...
HIT FINAL DEADLINE: This unexpected break came at a time when most spring yearbooks are at or approaching final deadline. And now school is out...
So what to do with this lemon? Lots of free time now at home, right? And our Jostens online tools are the best in the business. I'm urging yearbook staffs to put that home time to good use and finish up on time. Many folks have never done yearbook work from home and this is a chance to show that a little extra work outside of normal school time could mean staying on schedule and doing a great job. Call it homework.
TRY SOCIAL MEDIA: With more free time this week I hope you'll check out my new Yearbooking Report episodes in the right column here. This month's episodes feature an interview on using social media with your yearbooking efforts, something that few advisers and staffs do.
And then contact your staff and start your new social media effort NOW, not later. With everyone out of school. social media is a great tool to use to stay connected with your audience. You could set things up in minutes and get started right away. Remaining book sales, fresh images, or just stories of what people are doing during this incredible break - social media can be the connection. The timing is perfect and the timing is NOW.
TRY ONLINE MEETINGS AND VIDEOS: Many yearbook staffs are made up of very busy students involved in far more than just yearbook. Sometimes it's tough just to keep people informed of things.
This might be a good time to check out online meetings services like Zoom, Skype or others. Many of them offer a free way to utilize their basic tools just for simple online meetings. They all have an app to allow people to join or view a meeting on a mobile device. Especially for high school or college groups, perhaps schedule regular times after school hours for yearbooking gatherings online, probably taking only for a few minutes to go over things.
Or consider what is usually called the "flipped classroom." Advisers (or even editors) could easily create brief videos covering important material, teaching lessons, sharing news, etc, Then post that video for your group to see, either via your school online system, by email if the message is brief, or even on YouTube, SchoolTube or similar service. You can easily create a video with your mobile device or your laptop, just look at the camera, talk and save.
CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL CLASSROOM: Jostens advisers, with plenty of free time in the coming days, please check out the Digital Classroom on Yearbook Avenue. This amazing resource is at your fingertips, yet few advisers actually take the time to use it or even look at it.
The DC features nearly 200 individual lessons, our Grow Your Know curriculum series, a LONG list of how-to and instructional videos, and more. Look it over during this break, then see how you can utilize the materials there next year (or maybe still THIS school year.)
NEW LOOK BOOK COMING: For Jostens high school advisers this break comes at a "bad" time because the company is shipping out the new 2020 Jostens Look Book, or at least they were scheduled to do so. Assuming someone is still manning the school office each day, ask them to be on the lookout for your package. Then see if you can drive over and examine the book during this break.
Many advisers and staffs use the Look Book as inspiration for next year's effort, from custom cover designs to theme ideas and page creation. Why not start some early brainstorming for next year?
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As a wrap-up this week, just some encouragement - this is a bizarre situation we've been dealt. It would be easy to just hunker down at home for two weeks binge watching TV shows. feeling rather depressed knowing we should all be at school right now.
Instead let's turn this lemon into some yummy lemonade. Find the positives for this strange break - catching up on work or grading, examining new ways to do things, researching new materials, etc.
Many folks have used the old line this week - this too shall pass. And it will. But in the meantime let's make the most of it.
Stay safe, follow the advice of experts about this nutty virus. And remember - your Jostens team (me, our friend Micah Martin in State College, our entire crew) is here to help and support you. Reach out anytime with questions, problems...or if you just need someone to converse with. As your trusted partners we're here for you!