Use of social media and mapping applications

I am still exploring what might be done with mapping applications and the use of social media. 

In this example I combined or mashed data from one map with another. I used  a map developed by the Guardian Data Blog showing school league tables with a heat map I did showing income deprivation. The aim is to give a more contextualised picture by taking account of levels of deprivation experienced by the neighbourhoods in which schools are located. The schools are indicated by small red dots and if you click on one of these, you will get pop up information about school results and other data such as pupil numbers and the proportion eligible for free school meals.

The information could  used in different  ways (please add to the list!):

• as an evidence base against which to measure progress
• to target scarce resources at specific schools and neighbourhoods in need of additional support
• to raise awareness and generate a community wide discussion about their school

However it is really the last one that most interests me. If we are moving towards a new agenda in which we, as communities are active partners in  delivering public services - in this case the education of our children - then generating a community wide discussion is surely the first step. This is not about  asking   parents to double up as teachers  or school governors- although many do spend time helping out with homework or being on the board of governors -  it is about raising awareness, comparing results with other schools, and crowdsourcing ideas and resources about how we can best   support our schools.  The map - or just the section showing our neighbourhood or school- might be embedded in a simple blog or website with a forum.

There are a couple of other things I might try in order to get a conversation going. The first is to check out hyperlocal websites in my area using the openlylocal website. Quite often local websites are happy to use content created by others if it is about a local issue of relevance. An article with an embedded section of the map could then be sent as a link to  local schools and community groups.

The second is to involve Local Partnership - every local authority is part of an area wide multi- agency body that brings together all public services and key voluntary sector bodies. The chances are that one of the key priorities of any Local Partnership revolves around young people and educational attainment: find the relevant 'key priority' and use the wording as a hook to make your pitch, based on an initial analysis and discussion of the data.

A third possibility is to track down local facebook groups that may be interested to take a peek at this information.