3 Tips for Using your edQuestion Site to its Full Potential

March 12, 2012

When using an edQuestion site, every school acts differently based on its individual needs. However, there are a few things that every school can do to ensure that it is using its edQuestion site to its full potential, and here we have provided a few of our suggestions to help your site be successful and valuable.

1.   Promote, Promote, Promote!

One cannot benefit from a service they don’t know exists. Likewise, if students aren’t aware of the edQuestion service, they won’t be able to use it (duh). There are many simple measures your school can take in order to ensure awareness of your edQuestion site:

• Put links on your website. The simplest, easiest, and most effective method of promoting edQuestion is to have clear, accessible links on your school’s website, as this is often the first place people go when looking for answers to school-related questions.
• Periodical edQuestion reminder emails. Plain and simple, emailing students about the service will keep it in their minds and make sure you’re reaching the entire student body.
• Put signage in the counseling/administration office. edQuestion is mobile! Encourage students to avoid long lines in the counseling center by quickly searching for the answer to their question on their iPhone, Blackberry, or other device via our mobile site. Make sure to have posters or flyers to remind them about this resource.
• Mention edQuestion on your school’s answering machine. Often, current or prospective students/parents will call your school to find answers, which takes up a large portion of employee time. Simply mentioning the question answering capabilities of the edQuestion service on your school’s answering machine will help reduce your call volume and give callers the answers they need as fast as possible.
• Include edQuestion in your new student orientation program. Whether in-person or online, your school’s new student orientation can be a vital tool in ensuring students know as much as possible about their school. This is also a time when students have the most questions, so make sure to teach them how the edQuestion service works, right from the beginning.

2.   Keep Content in Check

Without current, relevant, and accurate information, the purpose of edQuestion is lost. Making sure that information is up-to-date and correct will alleviate confusion and increase the effectiveness of your edQuestion site. Assign someone on your staff the duty of checking at least once a day for new questions/answers and ensuring that all information is as accurate as possible. Also, their ability to edit will come in key in fixing grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization mistakes, which makes your site appear professional and trustworthy.

3.   Reward Actively Participating Students

edQuestion can only reach its full potential if there are dedicated and active users frequently asking new and helpful questions. As such, rewarding students who are consistently using the service can be key in ensuring a lively and active community. Creating a “Question of the Month” or “User of the Week” type contest with a reward can help increase incentive to use and contribute to your edQuestion site.

We hope you have found these edQuestion tips useful. To sign up now for your school’s own customized edQuestion site, click here. Otherwise, for more information, visit this link.

Hello edQuestion!

February 3, 2012

Yesterday, we launched a brand new service called edQuestion that we are very excited about.

When students today want answers, there’s one place they go to first – the internet. Today’s students greatly prefer finding answers on the web over any alternative method.

Imagine there was a service that provided answers to any question a student may have in an easily accessible, online format. Think of all the time, frustration, and repeated questions such a service would save. edQuestion is that service, and it is taking the student self-service experience to a new level – all while minimizing costs and faculty resources.

Benefits

• Save staff time answering common questions
• Allow students to find the answers they need anytime, anywhere
• Ensure information is consistent and pertinent at all times

What is edQuestion?

edQuestion is a next generation Question & Answer platform that goes far beyond the capabilities of any FAQ or site search tool. It delivers quick, effective and approved answers to student questions, and leaves them thrilled with the experience—all with little more than a click of their mouse.

How does edQuestion work?

Each school receives its own custom edQuestion site, which acts as an engaging virtual counselor’s office, empowering students to ask questions using normal, conversational language. The service will then display the best matched questions along with any answers that have been posted. If a student is still not satisfied with their answer, they are then able to submit a question for review, and a site administrator will post an answer at their earliest convenience.

It’s a low effort, engaging experience unlike anything your students have ever seen. An answering experience this efficient creates a positive impact in all the right areas: higher student satisfaction, better informed students, less wasted faculty time – and not to mention an ever-expanding dynamic database of pertinent institution-related information.

The Modern Student is Everywhere. Are you?

The edQuestion service works wherever students choose to interact with your school. edQuestion is optimized to work on any computer, laptop, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or other mobile device. edQuestion brings the answers straight to your students, wherever they may be.

Key Features

• Best Question Matches appear whenever a student asks a question that may already be in the database. This gives students the ability to see any questions that are similar to the one they have asked in order to avoid duplicate submissions. If none of the question matches completely address their question, they are then able to submit their question for review, or ask another question.
• Most Popular Questions includes a dynamic, constantly evolving list of the most relevant questions asked on your site
• Recent Questions show students the most questions that have been asked most recently. This allows students to find answers to questions they may not have even known they had.
• Mobile Device Integration has never been easier. edQuestion is optimized for use with iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and all other tablets and smartphones.

To order your school’s own edQuestion site, click here.