ISTE 3
The technological demands of 21st
century society require teacher preparation programs to equip future educators
with the "knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an
innovative professional in a global and digital society" (Figure 1).
It is essential that teachers have a familiarity with modern and relevant
technology and can utilize available digital resources to communicate and
collaborate with parents, students, and professional communities.
 |
| Figure 1: ITSE |
How can I improve parent-teacher
communication while demonstrating effective use of contemporary digital tools
and technology?
It is
always a challenge to find effective communication tools to interact and
partner with parents. It seems as though many of the traditional methods
of communication- email, classroom newsletters, parent portals- are not as
effective as in years past. The growing number of adults using social
media and the rise in smart phone usage has transformed the way people receive information.
Figure 2 shows the percentage of people with social media profiles
increasing from 24% in 2008 to 78% in 2016.
 |
| Figure 2 |
There are a wide array of beliefs on the usage of social media as
an communication tool in education. Before researching technological tools used
for parent-teacher communication, I thought I would not have guessed social
media would be an effective method. My initial hypothesis was that online
grading parent portals, Google apps, and student portfolios might be the most
useful tools. However, my research led me to believe that when used
correctly, social media networks are perhaps the most practical and efficient
communication tools when it comes to parent-teacher communication.
Twitter offers an
avenue for instant communication through the use of microblogging. It can
provide one-way communication to parents and community members regarding
events, deadlines, policy changes, weather updates, and other school or classroom
news (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014). By sending out brief 140-word
or less Tweets that link to a school Facebook page or website with more
information, you can connect with parents and community members immediately and
provide essential information. However, it is important to realize that
microblogging is an art and successful engagement is closely tied to the
quality of your tweets (Porterfield & Carnes, 2011).
Facebook and Instagram are two other social
media platforms that given parents ways to remain informed and get a glimpse
into a school or classroom culture. Teachers can use these networks to
post pictures of student work, short videos of classroom activities, and
information updates. Parents can engage with this information by commenting, "liking",
and/or reposting. Moreover, schools can use Facebook and Instagram to
promote athletic events, student-life activities, and performing arts shows.
The interactive component as well as the accessibility of these social
media platforms make them ideal parent communication tools.
Clearly, "the logical
implication for educators is to experiment with social media and to explore its
potential for communication and collaboration both in and out of the classroom (Wankel, 2011, p.
3). With the research highly in favor of
social media as a tool for parent communication, I am excited to see if using
these networks will improve the efficiency of parent-teacher communication and
boost parent involvement in my classes.
Resources
Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2014). How
and Why Educators Use Twitter: A Survey of the Field. Journal Of Research On
Technology In Education, 46(4), 414-434. doi:10.1080/15391523.2014.925701
Edison Research; Triton Digital. (n.d.). U.S. population with a social network
profile 2016. Statistic. Retrieved February 12, 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social-network-profile/
Porterfield, K., & Carnes, M. (2011). Twitter: Not just about
ham sandwiches. Educational Leadership, 68(8). Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/ may11/vol68/num08/Twitter@-Not-Just-About-Ham-Sandwiches.aspx
Wankel, C. (2011). Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education :
Educating Educators with Social Media. Bingley, GB: Emerald Group Publishing
Limited. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
My mentor teacher and I have a class project where we have the kids collect photos centered around a certain theme for a continually updated collage on the website. I had not thought about the possibility of using Instagram with students, but in such an occasion as this website project, it certainly could have been used instead. Have you used any specific social media with your students? How has it worked out thus far?
ReplyDeleteI have not utilized Facebook for my own classes, but our school uses it. Our school uses it to communicate with the community and so far we have had positive feedback. I can see myself using it for my own classroom. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteLynnea,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I wouldn't expect social media to be a good communication tool, but I thought your post raised some good points and was very interesting.