- Everett Public Schools
- ThoughtExchange
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We value the input of our families, students, staff and community members. You play a vital role in shaping the educational experience in Everett Public Schools.
We are using the online engagement tool ThoughtExchange to have meaningful and productive online conversations. This will improve our work.
ThoughtExchange is a collaborative platform where participants share their own ideas and rate the thoughts and perspectives of others. It is an opportunity for you to tell us what is important to you and for you to see what others are saying.
ThoughtExchange supports a two-way process allowing all participants to share different perspectives and learn from one another before moving forward with decisions.
Easy Three-Step Process
- Share - answer open-ended questions
- Star - review ideas from others and place a star on the ideas you like best
- Discover - see shared results and emerging themes
About the Exchange
- Your name will not be publicly linked to your thoughts or ratings, so please share openly.
- The way an exchange works is that other people will see your thoughts and ratings and you will see others' thoughts and ratings. Share as many thoughts as you like and visit the exchange as many times as you like.
- There is a 300-character limit per thought.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is a ThoughtExchange?
An exchange is a special and unique two-way process to bring people together on important topics, which replaces the methods used in traditional surveys with a naturally collaborative platform. It can turn everyday challenges into opportunities for engagement and growth. View more information here:
https://get.thoughtexchange.help/hc/en-us/articles/235721527-What-is-a-ThoughtExchange-Video-
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Who will see my responses?
Your responses (i.e., your "thoughts") will be shared, exactly as you have submitted them, with others participating in the exchange. ThoughtExchange keeps confidential who shared each thought and who assigned what ratings.
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How many "thoughts" can I share?
You can share as many thoughts as you would like - there is no limit. Please organize and separate your thoughts so that each thought is about a specific idea. Keep each thought focused on one point. This will make it easier for others to decide how many starts to assign that thought. Each thought is limited to 300 characters.
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What does Share, Star and Discover mean?
- SHARE - where everyone shares their thoughts.
- STAR - where everyone sees each other's thoughts and adds stars (from 1-5) depending on how strongly you agree or disagree with the idea.
- DISCOVER - where everyone's thoughts are sorted by average star rating.
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Do I see all of the thoughts that were submitted in the SHARE phase?
To keep the STAR phase manageable, you will see a random selection of thoughts in addition to some of your own. ThoughtExchange uses an algorithm to ensure that each thought is seen with the same frequency as every other thought, so each voice has an equal chance of being heard.
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Will people know what responses were mine?
No, your responses are displayed confidentially. Your thoughts will be shared, exactly as you submit them, with other participants during the STAR step. If you choose to sign up for a ThoughtExchange account, your name and/or email address will never be connected to your specific thoughts or displayed. You do not need an account to participate. Please be careful not to include any information in your thoughts that you do not want shared.
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Whose thoughts am I seeing?
In the STAR step, you'll be given the opportunity to read a selection of submitted thoughts. It is best to rate 30 thoughts, but you can rate more or less.
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I've shared my thoughts, what happens next?
Once you've shared your thoughts, you can see the thoughts of others and add stars to thoughts that you like best. This helps to identify the things that are the most important to participants. It also helps us make sure that decisions are well-balanced and informed.
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My first language is not English. Can I get help to complete the online exchange?
ThoughtExchange uses Google Translate to provide you with all of the thoughts and the question in your language of choice. If you'd like to participate in another language other than English, you can do so by clicking "Change language" from the drop-down menu on the introduction page for your exchange. You can participate in any Google Translate supported language.
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What if I see a thought that I think is rude or hurtful?
You can flag a thought for review by clicking the Options icon (3 dots) for that thought and then clicking on "Report." A facilitator will be notified to review the flagged thought.