BP7_20091010_Web_2.0_Tools_yammer.com

Recently I found myself in my principals office discussing the value of a service like Twitter. We both went back and forth on the pros and the cons of the service, but in the end found that the cons outweighed the pros. Which in many ways is unfortunate because a service like Twitter provides the opportunities for a school to provide its community with constant updates. However, there are many spammers on Twitter and the last thing our school needs is someone following our followers with a Twitter account filled with inappropriate material (believe me, this happened and our parents will check).

Today I was introduced to Yammer and all the glories of having a private Twitter like network. Although Yammer provides the same basic feature of Twitter with the sharing of posted messages, that is only a small fraction of the ability of Yammer.

First, Yammer offers much more security then that of its counterpart Twitter. It only provides access to those who are found within your domain name or those who have been given access by the administrator based on the web address. Essentially, Yammer utilize email verification to recognize that you are truly part of the group. Since Yammer's base clientele are enterprise organizations, they offer a suite of security options. Ranging from private networks to SSL encryption, Yammer provides its users with the safety of data protection. In a school setting this would be perfect for large districts or schools. A tool like this would allow teachers and administrators to keep in touch and provide parents with updates throughout the day.

Yammer provides many tools to follow postings. They offer a suite of applications that make it easy to track posts throughout the organization. Some of these applications include phone apps, firefox extensions, a desktop application, and a bookmarklet that allows users to quickly share links amongst each other.

Another great feature of Yammer is the ability to create groups. Users can be placed into groups and can share information amongst one another as well as the general community. As a use in education, a district could set up school specific groups or even grade level groups. This could allow for collaboration amongst teachers and administrators found within the district. This could provide schools the opportunity for teachers who would not otherwise work together to constantly stay in touch with one another. Administrators could share ideas or even communicate emergency information quickly.

Another great feature that Yammer offers is the ability to post images in a post and to upload documents for the organization. Districts and schools could post organization wide documents that could be easily searched and downloaded while all being contained in one place.

There are a couple of downsides to Yammer. First, to utilize many of the great tools you would need to sign up for a paid account. The prices on the website range from $3 to $5 per user. Although they do offer a discount clients with a user base over 100. Also, for your parents or students to take advantage of using Yammer, you would have to either provide them with a district wide email address or pay for them to be part of your organization. When you pay for them, the administrator can upload the students email address so that they can latter be verified. While price is probably the biggest resistance for educators to utilize this tool, I don't think it will be long before we find tools like this popping up in districts nation wide.