Communication and Collaboration with Parents and Students
Essential Questions
What are communication and collaboration technologies?
As a teacher, how can I use communication and collaboration technologies to improve student learning in my classroom?
Whether it is teacher-to-parent, teacher-to-student, student-to-student, or parent-to-parent communication, you will want to have the best possible options available when you are a teacher. Undoubtedly, the school district you work for will provide you with an email account, which should be kept professional and totally separate from your personal email account.
You might ask parents for their email addresses and create a mailing group or listserv. Many people prefer to communicate via text, and you may want to check out a free service that allows you to send and receive texts with parents and students but neither your actual number nor theirs will be shared. These services (see Remind 101, Celly, GroupMe, or SendHub) typically allow you to send messages from your phone, email, or a website.
A teacher might also maintain a website for parents to stay up-to-date with what is going on in their students’ classroom. Many schools have a content management system in place for teachers to maintain a website for which he/she is the sole editor and changes are not made often. A blog could be used in a situation where the teacher plans to update information often and allows for parents and students to comment. A wiki is used when the web-based writing is done collaboratively. For example, a group of teachers at a particular grade level might want one site they all can contribute to.
Classroom Blog Examples:
InfoTech with Mr. Losik http://mrlosik.blogspot.com/
The Year 3/4 Smarties http://thesmarties2.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Caudill’s Classroom Connection http://mrsccc.edublogs.org/
Mr. Robbo, The P.E. Geek http://thepegeek.com/
Fairview Physical Education – Be Heart Healthy! http://fairviewpe.blogspot.com/
Classroom Wiki Examples:
Mrs. Anderson’s Grade 2 Wiki http://mrsanderson10.pbworks.com/w/page/33263525/FrontPage
Healigan’s House http://healigan.blogspot.com/
Classroom Website Examples:
Memorable Math with Ms. Napolitano http://cnapolitano.weebly.com/
Instagram in the Classroom
10 Surprising Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom https://www.weareteachers.com/10-surprising-ways-to-use-instagram-in-the-classroom-2/
Three Reasons Your Students Should Own Your Classroom’s Instagram and Twitter Accounts https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-02-03-three-reasons-students-should-own-your-classroom-s-twitter-and-instagram-accounts
Using Instagram as a Classroom Tool http://www.nerdynerdynerdy.com/2014/06/using-instagram-as-classroom-tool.html
Instagram in the Classroom Pinterest Board https://www.pinterest.com/uhighlibrary/instagram-in-the-classroom/
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration goes beyond just communication. Collaboration tools allow you to share, or work together on, different types of media. Many of these tools function like the course management systems you have experienced (D2L, Blackboard, Moodle, etc.).
You might create an online space for your students to get homework help online, participate in discussion, share documents, or engage in research with other classrooms around the world. The following tools allow you do these types of activities:
Collaborize Classroom http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com
Gooru http://www.goorulearning.org Create collections of web resources and quizzes for your students or use collections created by other teachers.
Google Apps for Education http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/
ISTE-T Standards
3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning
- Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
- a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
- b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
- c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
- d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
Resources
Weebly http://education.weebly.com
Wix http://wix.com
