A Beginner's Guide to the Internet/INTERNET.ISO/text/faqs/netq&a.txt

Text File | 1996-05-06 | 13.9 KB | 270 lines

Most Frequently Asked Basic Questions
 About Electronic Media/Methods in Education

Answered By Cecil C. Hoge,  Sr.

Q: What is electronic aided education?

A: Any teaching made by or aided by any electronic method or media or combination of
the two.

Q: Can you mention some electronic media and methods you cover in your book?

A: Out of over 100 key areas and sub-areas in my book, some are the kind your listeners
grew up with like telephone, TV, radio, audiotape and later cable, VCRs and more
recently  computers and fax and now much newer kinds.

Q: Could you mention some of those?

A: They include the online information and entertainment networks like CompuServe and
America Online and Prodigy which have often been  successful for marketers and have
been a big help for educators.

CompuServe, the daddy of them all offers the most specialized special interest groups
(SIGs and forums). America On Line has for some time been the fastest growing and
easiest to use and features more kinds of mass appeal news and information. Prodigy is the
most advertising oriented and geared to handle the biggest number of subscribing families
and offers a bigger variety of wide appeal entertainment and news for each family member.

Q. What do all three offer educators?

A. Each has educational forums and even complete educational courses and much else that
can aid anyone in education who wants to develop and update electronic information,
media and methods skills.

Q. What are other network services that marketers are now moving into and which
educators investigate first?

A.  GEnie and Delphi are important among the online services via which large to small
businesses market profitably? GEnie is owned by GE, cutdown on membership but may
now grow again in a big way. It is very big in DOS-based games and may be growing in
educational games. Delphi is small now but it may be a good time to get in on the ground
floor. Rupert Murdoch has bought Delphi and says he is going to make it the biggest and
most successful in the world.

Q. What new services which marketers favor offer the most for educators?

A. E-World serving the Mac community and Ziff-Net which is strong on computer know-
how are two big entries. A thus far small one which may grow rapidly is WomanÆs Wire
aimed at women and particularly women in the professions, business and their own
enterprises. There are many others on the way including IntelÆs upcoming service
appealing to the presently dominant Intel PC ownership.

Q. What online services and networks are solely for educators?

A. There are many thousands of them, local, regional, national and global. They are
growing, offer a great variety of services and information and are becoming easier to use.

Q: What about the  educational BBS's, the institution owned and operated bulletin board
systems?

A: In my book I tell how tens of thousands of them are used as marketplaces, catalogs, for
product support, customer information and education to any activity, hobby, sport or
interest. I am now researching case histories of educational success either to aid classroom
instruction, for electronic distance learning and as aids to home education.

Q: What do business BBSÆs teach educators and have you any example of online success
used in education?

IÆll be glad to e-mail or fax anyone an excerpt from my newsletter, ôThe Electronic
Marketing Analystö which tells the story of  Dr. Richard Vigilante. who launched NYUÆs
ôVirtual Collegeö. The class has used Lotus ôNotesö software to tap into educational
BBSÆs worldwide and on the Internet. The ôVirtual Collegeö  has taught successfully first
one course, then four. It now has its ability to proliferate into other electronic forms and
will offer a complete MA diploma course. I report other case histories of success in
electronic aided education in upcoming issues of the ôElectronic Marketing Analystö. Still
others I upload to appropriate forums online or email when requested.

Q. What is the Internet?

A. It is the global computer network of networks including tens of thousands of networks.
A big share of them are educational networks all over the world. IÆll also e-mail or fax
excerpts from my ôElectronic Marketing Analystö newsletter which tell more about the
Internet.

 Q: What about success stories in other kinds of electronic media and methods used in
education and what can marketers teach us?

A:  In ôThe Electronic Marketing Manualö and my newsletter, ôThe Electronic Marketing
Analystö, I primarily write about ways to make money now in electronic marketing and
give equivalent case histories for each whether video-conferencing or cellular phones,
voice systems or CD-ROM, computer disks and much more. This course seeks out case
histories of learning success using each of a wide variety of electronic teaching aids, media
and methods. Each of you can help investigate further some of these and report to the rest
of us.

 Q:  How can any of this help average people in education?

A: It can help the school, other  institutions or other organizations you are a part of have a
better chance to survive with more of its present organization. It could increase
educational capabilities faster and more  effectively, stop firing, raise salaries and hire
more people.

Q: How?

A:  Just as electronic media and methods can help market better, more safely and at lower
cost almost any product, service, catalog or store, they can help teachers add to their
skills.

Q: In what ways?

A: Businesses market better electronically by more efficient advertising, selling, servicing
and keeping customers and controlling costs. Schools often can teach better with
electronic enhancement, at less cost per student enrollment hour, motivate students more
to go on into more advanced courses on the same subjects, into other courses
electronically aided, motivate parents to participate more, influence students to use
computers and other electronic media/method more effectively, process students more
effectively at lower cost, teach more per square foot of classroom and lab space, save on
brick and mortar, offer a wider selection of courses with less expansion of overhead.

Q: If its so good, why do so many big companies fire so many people and wonÆt
educational facilities do the same?

A: Every 18 months computers alone cut their prices in half and double their computing
power  per dollar with  a huge increase in productivity. The easiest way for big companies
to get quick  benefits is to do more with less  people but they do often do a lot to hire
more people. Reducing staff can be done faster. But creating jobs for skilled specialists in
electronic aided marketing keeps growing often requiring entirely new areas of education
to teach the new skills needed. Those fired have not upgraded educationally.
What is needed is a big drive to put into educational institutions the latest technology and
the people capable of using the new technology to maximum advantage. Only those not
capable of this will suffer.

Q: How do businesses succeed in electronic marketing in ways that educational
institutions can emulate?


A: The best electronic marketers satisfy customers more. They sell more effectively,
advertise better and publicize with electronic PR for less, sometimes almost for free.

Q: How do they do this?

A: In new electronic ways, big businesses launch new products more profitably, start new
divisions and joint venture with other companies, often using electronic marketing. They
acquire new growing companies often new, smart electronic marketers who create more
and more new jobs. Smaller business profitably concentrate on smaller niches. Colleges
and private schools do more and more of their enrollment marketing electronically or
electronically aided, the same with fund raising.

Q. In what ways?

A. They take over other educational institutions and organizations and form alliances with
still others. Local institutions open more campuses and become regional. With electronic
distance education they may become state, national and global institutions. Public colleges
and universities combine subsidized education for those who need it most with many
forms of specialized continuing and other education that create profit which joins donor
contributions to pay salaries and overhead and to expand facilities and staff.

Q How will public K-12 education be affected?

A. Many see the probability that fund raising and paid enrollments for special purposes
will take place in public schools along with present funding through various taxes and that
electronic methods and media will be used to market after hour use of facilities and add to
the badly needed revenue stream.


Q: What other electronic media and methods do marketers profit from most and which
educational institutions do more effectively?

A:  Marketers electronically enhance their direct mail, print and much electronic
communications with the use of 800 numbers and 900 numbers. They electronically
integrate print, phone and fax or  CD-ROM, computer disk and on-line. They use
interactivity to allow customers to find out right away what they  want, when they want it,
as little or as much as they want. This is transforming all media. New electronic media  are
creating surprising potential to sell almost any product or service. And educators are
learning to increase their revenue flow and lower their costs per hour of teaching time per
student in many of these ways.


Q: What about instant faxback, often called Fax On Demand?


A: This has been very successful.  In The Electronic Marketing Manual, I tell how our Sea
Eagle inflatable boat division ran  a small ad in the "Wall Street Journal", got ten phone
inquiries by 10 AM, faxbacked info and got enough orders by return fax  to pay for the ad
by lunch. Fax publishing is big. Fax reports and fax newsletters are multiplying very fast. It
is no automatic miracle but many educational applications can be effective.

How can this be done by phone?

A. Marketers use instant answer automated phone in the same way with both 800 numbers
(free) and 900 numbers for a small charge. This can be very effectively combined with a
real person to answer any questions the caller does not get from the software automatic
response.

Q: What about calling cold people you don't know to offer a an educational service such
as a seminar?

A: That's outbound phone. It can get people mad and it fails often. But it can be used in a
way that people like. In my book, I tell how Nadji Tehrani, a publisher of hi-tech
magazines tried to sell ads by phone and failed and then discovered how to take employees
who had never sold anything but knew his magazines thoroughly and trained them to sell
ads. Ad sales this way went up 20% the first week, in three months 55%. and what Nadji
learned caused him to publish "Telemarketing" magazine. Much educational special event
marketing can be done this way to highly targeted lists.

Q: Do people have time to look at videos  which are electronic brochures:?

A: It takes persuading people to put them in their VCR's and watch them. But I cite case
after case of immediate success from effective use of videos to demonstrate such as a
Chrysler dealer in Monterey, California sending out 202 videotapes and selling 43 trucks
and cars and what is needed to get results like these.

Q. How have educators applied this?

A. With considerable success. Video brochures work very well and video catalogs less
often. But a video brochure combined with a print catalog or print material works best of
all. I call it a co-catalog. I describe in The Electronic Marketing Manual how the Kansas
City School of Art successfully does this and in an upcoming news letter I tell how The
Stony Brook School (8-12) has had considerable success. Most educational institutions
now feature a video and many with traced success.

Q: What about interactive computer disks?

A: This is the same problem, but in my book, I tell how Citibank slashed the selling cost of
its online information service, Global Report by 95%  by electronic marketing in three
ways including an interactive disk. Educational institutions are using them more and more.

Q. Are Electronic Kiosks a waste of money?

A: There have been many failures but drops in costs and much improved technology are
creating more successes. In my book, I tell how The JeanScreen kiosks for Levi Strauss
caused sales to go up 20% on average more than in equivalent stores without the
JeanScreen. They are used for many purposes, from registration to special event marketing
by educational institutions


Q: Why don't all businesses and educational institutions use electronic marketing, media
and methods more and more??

A: Few have the know-how needed for the changes in electronic methods, media and
technology. Those who know will survive with more of their present staff and expand.
Others will be left behind.

Q: How can electronic media and methods know-how help the average teacher or other
educational employee?

A: It can protect your job, help you get a better job or free lance for extra money,

Q. In what ways?

Q: You teach every day. It can help you use your past expertise better and learn the new
expertise at least cost on your own time that you need most and much more

Q: How?

A: It can help you research at home, develop electronic ways to cut non-teaching time at
school and  after hours,  and even telecommute for part of your working time,  moonlight
or start your own business or combine with  others. It can help you get work as a tutor or
educational specialist in your field in other parts of the country or the world right from
your home. If you would like more information, fax [phone] or email 74170,1154.




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