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Communicating Online With Parents
Hi All,
I'm a Grade 2 homeroom teacher who, for years, has communicated classroom activities via a detailed monthly newsletter. In recent years, of course, I've gone green and begun e-mailing it out. However, I'm thinking it's time to start communicating online somehow. Twitter won't work as far as being spontaneous, because anything we send home requires admin. review and, thus, a 24-hour advanced notice for said review to take place. (Plus, I'm not sure how many parents actually pay attention to Twitter...) What online platform(s) do you use to communicate with parents about what is going on in the classroom? I'm thinking of some way to share about curriculum, special events and needs, maybe some photos and/or video, etc. But I don't want something exceedingly difficult or time-consuming (in addition to being a classroom teacher, I'm also a parent to a young child!) Thanks for any suggestions you can share.
Chris
Comments (4)
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Hi, My suggestion to you
Hi,
My suggestion to you would be to chat with parents online.Facebook is a more user friendly site and am sure most of the parents will be able to access it. Secondly, you can also start parents teachers meeting every weekend or once a month to give your feedback about the students to their parents. In this way, there will be an interaction between parents and teachers.
I am sure my suggestion will be of some help to you.
A Suggestion
Have you thought about starting a classroom blog? I've looked at several recently and they all incorporate elements that you mentioned in your post (curriculum, classroom needs, photos, etc.). It can be as simple or as fancy as you want and doesn't have to be time consuming.
A suggestion
I would suggest creating a classroom website. The internet is becoming a much easier method of communication for some parents. Time works as an advantage when communicating using the internet. Most parents time is after work when most teachers have gone home for the day. I would like to suggest you visit the site www.edudemic.com. This site shows how to create an effective classroom website. It offers suggestions on which programs would be useful for different needs. For example, SchoolRack is a free classroom website and Shutterfly has met the needs of teachers for years. The advantage of creating a website is to have open communication between the students, parents and yourself. I would also like to recommend using programs in your classroom online and communicate to parents through the programs. One example would be to use www.razkids.com, an online reading program for younger elementary students. There is an option to communicate to parents about the students reading progress on the program and the parents can communicate back. I hope this helps!
A free web-based application
A free web-based application that has look and feel of Facebook but with educational applications. Parents, Teachers, and Students can have accounts on www.edmodo.com
Another great free site is www.classdojo.com which also allows Parents, Teachers, and Students communication and feedback features.