Sharing memories realtime with ClassScene

Yearbooks are proof that students want to remember the good times and want to share them with their friends. Walsworth has expanded that concept to the internet in a safe, fun and educational setting for students.

Students are online all the time – in online communities such as MySpace and Facebook, emailing or chatting, and sharing images and videos from camera phones. Now, ClassScene by Walsworth allows students to do those activities within the safety of their school-sponsored ClassScene website.

Schools across the country see the advantages of ClassScene for students and their families, faculty, groups affiliated with the school and the school itself.

“It’s similar to Facebook and MySpace. The kids love going on there and viewing videos. Well, if you can share videos… a lot of kids’ work is not seen, and this is a good way for it to be seen,” said Michael Palermo, broadcast teacher at Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Mo.

Palermo said he sees Blue Springs High using ClassScene to publicize student work, show student-created shows such as “Coach’s Corner,” which is currently a cable TV show, and school and district videos. He said clubs would be able to show their activities, giving parents a glimpse of what students are doing in those venues.

With the amount of material that is produced by the students and the district, Palermo sees another advantage to ClassScene.

“Another great feature is the archiving ability. The server alone will be able to archive all videos,” Palermo said.

For colleges and universities, ClassScene provides all those features, but one college administrator sees ClassScene being used in a broader sense.

“I became interested when I heard of communications with our graduates and our supporters, especially financial,” said RandyWard, vice president for operations at Boston Baptist College in Boston.

He also said ClassScene would be a tool in the recruitment process.

“We would confine it to those students who are taking a good look at the college, and let them look at us with a little more depth,” Ward said.

With ClassScene, colleges, universities and even private K-12 schools can allow students, family and alumni to have their own private studio for uploading and sharing photos and videos. The school can post videos showing campus activities. And the school store will enable people to create custom products with the school logo or mascot, all of which can make students, family, alumni and financial supporters feel closer to the institution.

“It’s in its infancy stage. I’m open to explore wherever it might lead us,” Ward said. “I’m curious to see how all these things play out and I’m excited about our relationship with ClassScene and Walsworth.”