I think that technology can definitely make communication with parents easier, but it must be used correctly in order to make it effective. There are many obstacles to creating means of communication that all parents are going to be able to use. Parents have varying amounts of time, energy, and technology available to them. As the teacher, it is important to make an effort to communicate with parents and be as open as possible with them in talking about their child. This will make parents more willing to help you solve problems you may have with their child. It is also important to be organized because parents want to know that you took the time to set aside their child’s work before speaking with them or that you can show them a test that their child just completed. Try to connect with parents right at the beginning of the school year to start building those bonds of communication that will make it easier to solve problems later in the year.
I think that technology is a great way to make communication with parents a lot easier, as long as necessary precautions are taken along the way. My CT has the email addresses of the parents of all of her students. She sends emails out to them periodically to let them know about tests that are coming up and if she has posted new grades on the blackboard website. I think that this is a very efficient way to make parents feel like they are connected with what’s going on in the classroom, but also doesn’t take my CT very much time at all. I also think that a class website is a very good idea to have. After reading the article about maintaining a classroom website, it seems very doable for me to be able to have one for my own classroom. It is very helpful to have assignments posted on the web for students to access at home and for parents to be able to check to see if their child has a test coming up or what they did in class that day. Once created, a website is not very time-consuming to maintain and update.
The article about students and teachers being digital friends is also very interesting. In my opinion, the only acceptable way for students and teachers to be facebook friends is if the teacher’s facebook is strictly a classroom tool and not at all personal. Teachers could post their homework assignments on their wall and students could ask the teacher questions about class assignments or tests coming up on the wall as well. If the teacher’s facebook is used at all for personal use, this is inappropriate. I also think that teacher’s should not require students to be facebook friends with them and should inform parents that this facebook/classroom page exists.
The most important potential disadvantage with using technology as your means of communication with parents is that some families may not have a computer or access to the internet or email. This would make it very difficult for these parents to feel included in the classroom activities. I also think that technology can cause the relationship between parents and teachers to feel very impersonal. It is nice to be able to match a name to a face and know who you are emailing and who your child sees in school every day. This is why events such as Back to School Night are such a great way to meet families.
Overall, technology is a great way to encourage communication with parents because of its ease of use and efficient nature. I think that I will definitely utilize class email list serves and maintain my own website for my future classrooms.
I think the best technology to use to communicate with parents is a class email list or a class web page. An interesting point that stuck out to me was that teacher’s have to be organized when dealing with parents so that they show that they really care about their child. It is always better to make contact with parents early and on positive notes rather than when a problem arises. I agree that it is inappropriate for a teacher to give their students their personal facebook, cell phone number, etc. I believe teachers should distance themselves from students in that regard to protect themselves.
I agree with all of the above! Communicating with parents via email is a great tool; my CT sends emails weekly or sometimes biweekly that update parents on everything happening in class and in the school in general. If a student is having trouble, sometimes email can be a quick way to get in touch with parents, especially if they are not available by phone easily. I also like the idea of a class webpage; although, with everything else teachers need to keep up with I wonder if maintaining a webpage could be adding too much for those of us who are technologically challenged. I also like the idea of having a professional page (like our portfolios will be) online that parents can view to see credentials, sample lessons, etc. I think that’s a great way for parents to get to know us as teachers.
The biggest problem I see with communicating with parents via technology is access. In many areas, lots of people still don’t have computers or internet access. While many of them may have access at work, they may not be allowed to send or receive personal (non-work related) emails there. Likewise, without a computer or access a webpage is not going to be helpful. Unless we can guarantee that all of our students and parents have access, we need to keep sending hard copies or making phone calls as well.
I totally agree with the facebook/personal info stuff. I feel that I am a teacher and as such it is WAY inappropriate to be facebook friends, share phone numbers, screennames, or anything else with my students. The idea of a facebook teacher page is good, but I think I would rather use a class webpage to answer student questions and provide help outside of class.
I agree with what has been said so far. Technology is a great tool and makes communicating with parents much easier. Parents who are too hard to reach by phone, can be easily reached by email. Also, websites or blogs can be easily updated to keep parents informed. However, it is extremely important to be aware of the parents you are reaching and those you aren’t. There is a gap in parents’ access to technology. Maybe send out a survey at the beginning of the year to ask the best form of communication. Also, you can put something on your webpage like “write a note if you read this” so that you know who is getting the information. Being aware of who you are reaching is very important.
While technology is wonderful in reaching parents, I have to wonder, is there too much communication? When parents can find out instantly their children’s grades, is this necessarily a good thing? It is good for parents to know if their child is failing to complete assignments or failing tests, but maybe parents being too involved and the ease at which teachers can contact parents over the littlest mistake can cause parents to overreact. For instance, my dad has said (and written about: http://macedonia2007.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-communication-than-before.html ) that he has frequently gotten contacted by my 7th grade brother’s teachers for missing assignments, misbehaviors, etc. Since he never received this kind of communication about either me or my older brother (5 and 7 years older than my younger brother) that he started to worry about my younger brother failing in school. However, my mother (a 7th grade teacher) assured my dad that he is just being a 7th grade boy and that my older brother and I slipped up just as much but reaching parents wasn’t as easy. So, is there a downside to all this communication? It it too much of a good thing? Are students not learning to be independent and organized? Are they relying too much on their parents to keep up with assignments and due dates from webpages?
The first thing that comes to mind when I read these articles is that it’s important for teachers to communicate with parents about positive things going on in the classroom. Something like a class blog makes this substantially easier. Teachers can post happenings in the classroom, upcoming events and assignments, and photos from a particularly interesting lesson (such as a lab or outdoor activity). My CT uses this technique on a Moodle page, where the students can discuss what is going on in the classroom, see a schedule of upcoming assignments and events, and see their grades on a personalized password system. Parents can keep track of their kids’ assignments and grades, and can help their children manage their time and successfully complete assignments. Hopefully, this can prevent negative communication or make it expected when the parents know how their children are doing in school.