Digital Solutions for Engaging Your Chapter Presented by: Ryan Bedford, President Joy Champaloux, Vice President

Raise your hand if: ●Your chapter is spread out over a large geographical area. ●Your officers live far apart from each other or have difficulty coordinating meeting time. ●You had a predecessor move away from the area and didn’t leave their notes.

Problem #1: Members are spread out over a large geographical area. Consider: Virtual Events

Virtual Events: ●Benefits: ○ Expands target audience. ○ Cost-effective. ○ Allows participants to focus on the content. ●Intended to complement in-person events--not replace them.

“Writing Your Federal Resume” Workshops ●JETAADC teamed up with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for two career workshops. ○ November 2014 ■ In-person seminar for recent returnees. ○ April 2015 ■ Online webinar, open to everyone.

Online Webinar ●Free registration via Eventbrite. ●Presented on Adobe Connect. ●Total participation: 30+ members

●JET Talks ○ Q&A with producers of Kokoyakyu, were recorded and uploaded as podcasts. Downloaded over 600 times. ●Let’s Talk Japan ○ Nick Harling, former JET Talks chair, produced other podcasts related to Japan. Examples: Interview with the JET Program Coordinator, recordings of pre-departure orientation sessions, amongst many others.

Problem #2: Officers live far apart from each other. Consider: Skype

●Benefits include: ○ Free to download and use ○ Availability (can be used on any computer, anywhere) ○ Video option ●Supplement in-person meetings: ○ Plan and follow up on chapter events ○ Provide updates on items not covered during in-person meetings

Problem #3: Officers have difficulty coordinating schedules to meet. Consider: When2meet.com

●A free service that helps you find the best time for a group to meet. When2meet.com

Problem #4: Officers have difficulty transitioning with new members or passing down records. Consider: Google Docs

●Officers can: ○ Access documents from any computer, anywhere. ○ Upload officer transition manuals, meeting minutes, budget forms, etc. ○ Multiple users can edit documents simultaneously during meetings.

What are other useful digital tools?

●Officers can: ○ Create a customized event page. ○ Offer multiple ticket types and set different pricing levels. ○ Manage event registration and track attendance. Examples: OPM Resume webinar, JET Talks with Laurel Lukaszewski

●Helps facilitate cost sharing by having members register and pay for events online. ●Accepts credit cards and can take payments anywhere on any device. ●Can be linked to an Eventbrite page, Google form, Facebook event, etc. Examples: Bonenkai, 10+ events, Kakehashi dinner

Open Discussion These are applications that JETAADC is currently using, but there are many other digital platforms that you can use based on your needs. What are some others?