2023 Guide to #SchoolPR & Tech Tools

Content Creation TechTools

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is one of the most efficient and accessible AI tech tools. Think of it as long-form search that synthesizes information. It enables prompt responses to queries. ChatGPT handles multiple conversations simultaneously, allowing you to reference past prompts for future content. And you can train it to communicate in specific voices and tones.  It overcomes language barriers through natural language processing, facilitating effective communication with diverse populations, promoting inclusion and ensuring easy access to information.

Otter.ai

Otter.ai is an advanced transcription and note-taking tool that allows you to accurately and efficiently transcribe and organize meaningful discussions, meetings, and lectures. Otter.ai makes it easy to retrieve and reference important information, improving productivity and collaboration among your colleagues. Otter.ai’s real-time transcription capabilities provide access to individuals with hearing disabilities and ensure inclusive communication. With Otter.ai’s easy-to-use interface and advanced search capabilities, you can streamline your workflow, improve communication efficiency, and foster an engaged and informed community.

Adobe Scan

Capture documents, receipts, and other important records quickly and easily with Adobe Scan on your smartphone. This tech tool eliminates bulky scanners and reduces paper clutter. Adobe Scan lets you create high-quality, searchable PDF files that are easy to share and store digitally, improving document organization, accessibility, and collaboration. Use optical character recognition (OCR) technology built into Adobe Scan to extract text from scanned documents, making it easier to edit, search, and repurpose content.

Grammarly

Grammarly is a comprehensive writing assistant that helps you improve the quality and accuracy of your content. Its advanced grammar and spell-checking features detect and correct errors, ensuring your communication is professional and error-free. Grammarly’s plagiarism checker helps maintain your academic integrity by detecting unintentional plagiarism. Clarity and readability suggestions offer insights to improve the overall flow and coherence of written communication.

Unroll.me

As an email management tool, Unroll.me simplifies the process of organizing and decluttering email inboxes. You can easily unsubscribe from unwanted email subscriptions, reducing inbox clutter and saving valuable time. Unroll.me also offers the ability to combine favorite subscriptions into a single, easy-to-read daily digest. This feature ensures that no important messages are missed and the inbox stays tidy.

HubSpot Blog Idea Generator

The Idea Generator helps generate creative and engaging blog content ideas. By entering relevant keywords or topics, you can access a wide range of blog post suggestions tailored to your needs. This tool provides inspiration and saves time by providing a list of potential topics. Whether you’re writing about education trends, student success stories, or parent engagement strategies, HubSpot’s blog idea generator allows you to create consistently informative and engaging blog content that resonates with your target audience.

Answer the Public

This tech tool provides insights into the questions and queries people search for online on specific topics. When you enter relevant keywords or topics, you get access to a wealth of data in the form of frequently asked questions, prepositions, and comparisons. This information helps you understand the needs of your audience and allows you to create content that directly addresses questions before they are asked. Answer the Public helps you to focus your communication strategies on providing valuable insights into your audience’s interests and concerns.

Website Tools

Rebrandly

As a custom URL shortening and branding platform, Rebrandly allows you to create short, branded links that are memorable and visually consistent with your school’s brand. This helps increase the professionalism and trustworthiness of the links you share. With Rebrandly, you can track click-through rates and gather valuable analytics to understand the effectiveness of your communication efforts. The platform also offers easy management of multiple links, so you can seamlessly organize and update your shared content.

Jotform

An invaluable tech tool for communicators, Jotform offers a range of features that prioritize data privacy and accessibility. With robust compliance measures, JotForm ensures that sensitive student and parent information remains safe and secure, in compliance with privacy laws such as GDPR and HIPAA. JotForm’s accessibility features make it easier for people with disabilities to access and interact with online forms, ensuring inclusion in the communication process. With JotForm, you can create custom forms, surveys, and registration processes that are both user-friendly and compliant, streamlining data collection and improving engagement within the school community while maintaining the highest standards for privacy and accessibility.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

A powerful website crawling tool, it provides comprehensive insights into the technical aspects of a school’s website. With its ability to analyze URLs, metadata, headings and other critical elements, Screaming Frog SEO Spider helps you identify and fix SEO issues that can affect search engine rankings and website visibility. This tech tool also provides valuable data about broken links, duplicate content and page errors that will allow you to optimize user experience and improve website performance.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

A powerful analytics platform, GA4 provides comprehensive insights into website and app performance, enabling you to make data-driven decisions. With GA4, you can track key metrics such as website traffic, user engagement, and conversion rates. This data helps you understand how users interact with your digital platforms and enables you to optimize content, improve user experience, and drive meaningful engagement. GA4 offers advanced features like event tracking, audience segmentation, and cross-device reporting that give you a holistic view of your digital ecosystem.

Google Fonts

Google Fonts is a valuable resource for communicators, offering a wide range of fonts for use in various digital and print materials. One of the notable features is the ability to check if the fonts are suitable for the web to ensure compatibility with different browsers and devices. This feature gives you the assurance that the selected fonts will be displayed correctly and consistently by all users. With Google Fonts, you can easily search, select, and implement visually appealing and web-safe fonts to improve the aesthetics and readability of your school’s digital content.

Design, Graphics and Photography Tools

Canva

This versatile design platform offers numerous templates, graphics, and tools to help you create visually appealing and professional content. With Canva for education, you can design engaging posters, social media graphics, presentations, and more, all tailored to your brand identity. Thank you to its user-friendly interface and intuitive drag-and-drop features, the platform is accessible to users with different design skills. In addition, Canva for Education offers collaboration features so you can easily work with colleagues, students, and parents in real time.

Adobe Capture

Adobe Capture lets you transform your environment into creative elements. With features like shape and color extraction, you can capture real-world objects, colors, and patterns and turn them into digital design elements. With this functionality, you can create visually appealing graphics, logos, and illustrations that are unique to your brand. Adobe Capture integrates seamlessly with other Adobe Creative Cloud apps, so you can easily transfer captured elements for further editing and refinement.

Color tools for accessible websites

Accessible-Colors.com is one of several websites that offer you valuable features to ensure inclusive design and accessibility. Along with other platforms like WebAIM.com and ColorSafe.co, Accessible-Colors.com offers an easy-to-use online tool that allows you to evaluate and validate the color contrast of your digital content. By entering specific color combinations, you get instant feedback on whether the contrast ratio meets accessibility guidelines and ensures readability for people with visual impairments. These websites allow you to create an inclusive design that prioritizes accessibility, addresses the diverse needs of your audience, and promotes equal access to information for all users.

Piktochart

Piktochart is an intuitive and versatile design tool that allows you to create visually captivating and informative infographics, presentations, and reports. Thank you to its user-friendly interface and wide range of customizable templates, you can effortlessly design professional-quality visual content that effectively conveys important messages. Piktochart’s drag-and-drop functionality, extensive library of icons and images, and data visualization tools make it easy to turn complex information into engaging visuals. Piktochart supports collaboration and allows you to work seamlessly with colleagues and students on joint projects.

Stencil

Stencil is an efficient graphic design tool that lets you create stunning visual content for various communication channels. With its intuitive interface and extensive library of royalty-free images, icons, and templates, Stencil makes it easy to design eye-catching graphics for social media, posters, presentations, and more. The extensive collection of templates with pre-designed sizes ensures that you can quickly create visuals that are optimized for multiple platforms and devices. Stencil also offers advanced editing features, including text overlays, filters, and custom branding options that let you customize and enhance your designs.

Visme

Visme helps you with its intuitive visual communication platform. With a user-friendly interface and a wide selection of templates and multimedia content, you can easily create captivating presentations, infographics, and reports. Visme’s interactive features enhance audience engagement, while its collaborative features promote teamwork.

Online Tech Tools for Videos and Animations

Animoto

Animoto lets you easily create professional-quality videos to enhance your communication efforts. With a variety of templates, music tracks, and customizable options, you can create engaging video content for announcements, event highlights, student presentations, and more. Animoto’s easy-to-use interface and drag-and-drop functionality let you create videos without extensive technical knowledge.

Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark makes it easy to create stunning videos and animations to engage your audience. The platform offers an easy-to-use interface and a wide range of templates, graphics, and effects to bring your ideas to life. Whether you’re promoting school events, showcasing student achievements, or creating educational content, Adobe Spark’s intuitive tools let you produce professional-quality videos and animations without extensive design or animation skills.

iMovie

Easily create high-quality videos with the easy-to-use video editing software iMovie. With its intuitive interface, you can edit footage, add transitions, incorporate music and sound effects, and apply visual effects to enhance your videos. iMovie also offers a wide range of templates and themes that let you quickly create professional-looking videos that match your branding. Whether you’re producing promotional videos, documenting events, or sharing educational content,

Bitable

With its easy-to-use interface and extensive library of templates and animations, Biteable lets you create engaging animated videos and explainer videos for social media and websites. Whether it’s promoting school events, explaining educational concepts, or showcasing student achievements, Biteable offers a wide range of customizable options to bring ideas to life.

Tech Tools for Translation

Weglot

A powerful translation management platform, Weglot simplifies the process of creating multilingual websites. With its user-friendly interface and seamless integration, you can easily translate and localize your school’s website content into multiple languages. Weglot automatically recognizes and translates the text, and allows you to review and edit the translations to ensure accuracy. The platform also supports language switching and offers customizable language settings to provide a smooth experience for visitors with different language backgrounds.

ChatGPT

With its multilingual capabilities, ChatGPT can help you communicate more effectively with the different language backgrounds of your audience. Whether you are providing information, answering questions, or offering support, ChatGPT’s multilingual capabilities allow you to communicate seamlessly in multiple languages. This feature promotes inclusion and ensures that language barriers do not hinder effective communication with your audience.

Rev.com

Simplifying transcription and subtitling for you with its ability to automatically add subtitles to YouTube and Vimeo videos, Rev.com streamlines the process. Simply submit your videos and receive accurate subtitles that meet accessibility requirements and reach a wider audience. Improve the accessibility and inclusion of your content and appeal to people with hearing disabilities. Rev.com services ensure effective communication and promote engagement within the school community.

Password Management Tech Tools

Password security and multi-factor authentication (MFA) are critical to protecting sensitive information. In today’s digital landscape, where cyber threats are prevalent, strong passwords and MFA provide an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access. Password security involves the use of complex and unique passwords for each account, while MFA provides an additional layer of verification that requires information beyond the password. By prioritizing password security and implementing MFA, individuals and organizations can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive data.

1Password

1Password lets you store and manage your passwords securely and ensure strong and unique passwords for every account. With a user-friendly interface and robust encryption that protects sensitive information from unauthorized access, 1Password’s built-in password generator can create complex passwords to further enhance security. Cross-platform compatibility and browser extensions enable seamless password management across devices and browsers.

LastPass

LastPass allows users to securely store and organize their passwords in a central vault that can be accessed from multiple devices. This tech tool simplifies password management by generating strong, unique passwords and auto-populating credentials for websites and applications. LastPass also provides secure password sharing capabilities for convenient collaboration. With its advanced encryption and multi-factor authentication options, LastPass ensures reliable security for sensitive information.

Social Media Management Tech Tools

Sprout Social

With Sprout Social, you can efficiently manage and schedule social media posts across multiple platforms, saving time and ensuring consistent content delivery. The tool provides in-depth analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing users to track performance, measure engagement, and make data-driven decisions. Sprout Social also offers social listening features, enabling users to monitor brand mentions and gather valuable insights from online conversations. With its intuitive interface and collaborative features, Sprout Social enhances social media management, improves audience engagement, and helps users optimize your social media strategy effectively.

Buffer

Buffer is an ideal social media management tool for school communications and PR professionals. With Buffer, you can easily schedule and publish posts across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent content delivery. The user-friendly interface and collaborative features make planning and executing social media campaigns effortless. Buffer’s analytics provide valuable insights into post performance and audience engagement, refining strategies for maximum reach.

Agoraplus

With Agorapulse, professionals can efficiently manage social media accounts, schedule posts, and engage with your audience in a centralized platform. The tech tool offers advanced features such as social media listening, inbox management, and robust analytics, allowing professionals to monitor conversations, respond to messages, and measure the impact of social media efforts. Agorapulse streamlines social media management helps build strong online communities, and enables professionals to effectively communicate and promote your brand across social platforms.

Tech Tools for Listening and Asking

Hotjar

With Hotjar, you can use visual tools like heatmaps, recordings, and surveys to understand how people interact with your website. Heatmaps show you which areas of your website are getting the most attention and where there’s room for improvement. Recordings let you watch how users navigate your site, giving you more insights into their behavior. Surveys allow you to directly ask visitors for feedback, which helps you find and fix any issues they may have. By using Hotjar, you can make informed decisions based on data, make your website easier to use, and improve overall user satisfaction.

SurveyMonkey

With SurveyMonkey, easily create and distribute customizable surveys to your target audience, collecting feedback and opinions. The tech tool offers a wide range of question types, branching logic, and customizable design options to ensure the surveys are engaging and effective. The collected responses can be analyzed in real-time, allowing organizations to make informed decisions based on the data. SurveyMonkey’s user-friendly interface and robust reporting capabilities make it an ideal solution for conducting research, measuring satisfaction, and gathering feedback from stakeholders.

Email and Inbound Marketing Tech Tools

HubSpot

HubSpot is an essential email and inbound marketing tool for school communications and PR professionals. With HubSpot, you can easily create and manage email campaigns, reaching target audience with personalized and engaging content. The platform offers a user-friendly interface, intuitive email editors, and powerful automation features, enabling professionals to nurture leads, track engagement, and measure campaign success. HubSpot provides robust inbound marketing tools, including lead generation forms, landing page builders, and content management capabilities, helping professionals attract and convert website visitors into valuable contacts.

Mailchimp

With Mailchimp, create and manage email campaigns, delivering targeted messages to your audience. The platform offers user-friendly email templates, automation features, and segmentation options, allowing you to personalize communications and drive engagement. Mailchimp provides robust analytics, enabling professionals to track campaign performance and make data-driven decisions. With its intuitive interface and comprehensive features, Mailchimp empowers you to reach your target audience effectively, enhance brand awareness, and drive results through email and inbound marketing efforts.

Finalsite Messages

Finalsite Messages is a powerful email and inbound marketing tool specifically designed for school newsletters, communications, and PR professionals. With Messages, school communicators can effortlessly create and manage personalized email campaigns. The platform offers a wide range of customizable email templates, automation features, and segmentation options, enabling professionals to deliver targeted messages that resonate with your audience. Messages also provides robust analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing professionals to measure campaign performance, track engagement, and make data-driven decisions. With its user-friendly interface and tailored features, Messages empowers you to strengthen your brand, engage your audience, and achieve marketing goals through effective email and inbound marketing strategies.

Free Tech Tool Training Courses

Hubspot Inbound Certification Course

The HubSpot Inbound Certification Course is a valuable free training resource for individuals seeking to master inbound marketing strategies. This course provides comprehensive insights into inbound marketing methodologies, including content creation, lead nurturing, and customer engagement. Learners gain a deep understanding of how to attract, engage, and delight customers through relevant and valuable content. The course offers video lessons, quizzes, and practical exercises to reinforce knowledge and skills. By completing the HubSpot Inbound Certification Course, you can enhance your expertise in inbound marketing, stay ahead of industry trends, and drive successful marketing campaigns that generate meaningful results.

Google Courses

Google Courses offer a wide range of free training programs that cover various topics related to digital skills, technology, and business. These courses are designed to empower individuals with valuable knowledge and practical skills to succeed in today’s digital world. Whether it’s learning about tech tools like Google Ads, Analytics, or Digital Marketing, Google Courses provide comprehensive resources, including video tutorials, interactive assessments, and practical exercises. You have the flexibility to access the courses at your own pace and track progress along the way. By completing Google Courses, you can acquire in-demand skills, boost your professional profile, and stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Finalsite Courses

Finalsite Courses offer a range of free training programs tailored to the specific needs of school communications and marketing professionals. These courses cover a wide array of topics, including website management, social media marketing, and digital communications strategies. Designed by industry experts, Finalsite Courses provide valuable insights and practical tips to enhance the digital presence of educational institutions. Access video tutorials, resources, and quizzes to deepen your understanding and apply your newfound knowledge. By enrolling in Finalsite Courses, school professionals can stay up-to-date with the latest trends and tech tools, improve skills, and effectively engage their school community through compelling digital strategies.

Siteimprove

Siteimprove offers a collection of on-demand webinars that provide valuable insights into website optimization, accessibility, SEO, and digital marketing. These webinars are designed to help you enhance your digital presence and improve the overall performance of your websites. By accessing the on-demand webinars, participants can learn practical strategies, best practices, and industry trends directly from experts in the field. Siteimprove’s webinars provide actionable tips and techniques to optimize websites, ensure accessibility compliance, and drive better user experiences. With Siteimprove’s on-demand webinars, you can stay informed, make data-driven decisions, and take your digital strategies to the next level.

Monsido

Monsido offers informative webinars that cover a wide range of topics related to website management, accessibility, and digital governance filled with insights and practical knowledge to optimize your websites. Learn about the latest trends, best practices, and tools to enhance your website’s accessibility, SEO, and compliance. The webinars are led by industry experts who share expertise and provide actionable tips to help you improve your website’s performance and meet industry standards. Monsido’s webinars offer a valuable learning opportunity for individuals seeking to elevate their website management practices and deliver an exceptional online experience.

As communication tech tools speed forward, savvy communicators and marketers need to prioritize learning and relearning. As with any learning curve, practice builds skills — so make time for learning each week, but be cautious of cognitive overload. Master one tech tool at a time and build good habits, or you will find yourself lost in a sea of shining new tools wondering where all your time went.