The IEU publications and communications team was pleased to receive more than 1200 responses to its recent survey on members’ views about Newsmonth.
The survey was formulated to guide decision–making on future content and format of Newsmonth.
We asked members what kind of topics they like to read about in Newsmonth. Industrial updates (75%), teaching and learning (78%) and professional development (71%) were the most popular topics. Stories about teacher exchange were also well read.
There was a fairly even spread on how you like to access Newsmonth, with 60% opting for the print format, 35% wanting it on the website, and 18% wanting to see it through the ipad app.
This is an area that we will continue to monitor as the technology evolves.
Many people (67%) said they share the content of Newsmonth with their colleagues. From an environmental perspective, we would encourage members to take their copies of Newsmonth from home into the staffroom, to be reread by others.
One of the main things to emerge as needing further action by the Union was the coverage of support staff stories in Newsmonth. While we endeavour to have at least one support staff story in every issue, it’s obviously an area where we need to do more work. Similarly there was demand for more early childhood coverage.
We are always happy to hear from any support staff who would like to see an issue covered in Newsmonth.
Finally, we asked you about the annual IEU calendar that goes out with December Newsmonth. Fifty-five per cent of people said they wanted it to be continued, but there was a real split over its format. Some people wanted it bigger, as a wall chart, and about equal numbers wanted it smaller, some as a desk calendar. The Union has to weigh up the cost of distribution when considering issues like the calendar.
We thank all our members for taking the time to complete the survey, and we encourage more feedback and comments: email newsmonth@ieu.asn.au.
