Bonnie Brenwalt

http://mrsbrenwaltclass.weebly.com
EDU-225
May 31, 2015

Entry 1: Technology to Support Communication

Introduction
Throughout the years the ways of communication have changed for parents and teachers.
We are in an age where we look for answers right away to our questions. Through the advance of
technology, parents and teacher and even students can stay connected. The ways that I would like
to stay connected with my parents and students are a classroom website, email, a class blog, and
remind 101. Through my communication I hope to stay well connect with my parents and
students.
Technology to Enhance Communication
Classroom Website: The first communication a teacher can plan to use in their class is through a
class website. Through this website a teacher can inform their parents and students of all things
that are happening in the classroom and school. Through their class website they can keep
parents informed daily of what is going on in the classroom, provide them with resource to make
sure they have everything all in one place. Incase their students loses the information that the
teacher has sent home. Maintaining contact between classrooms and homes is an important
goal but can be difficult to achieve. But incorporating website updates into daily instruction,
teacher establish and strengthen these connections (Brown 2003). Classroom websites can also
be a way to inform administrators, the community and other teacher. Teachers can provide their

web address for their classroom website on the school main page so that everyone has access to
their website.
E-mail: The second form of communication a teacher can plan to use is e-mail. Through this
communication teachers can answer questions of students and parents. This provides a way of
allows being able to communicate with their parents and students when at times they might be to
busy to stop and answer a phone call. But could answer an email from just about anywhere.
Emails can also provide teachers with a way of keeping track of concern that parents may have
on their child. As teacher we need to make sure that we are careful with how we answer our
emails because these are written documents and we need to make sure are response are answered
in a professional manner. Know that you cant take back what you write. Our first impression
comes from what and how we write. Make sure that you dont haste because this can suggest a
tone that we did not intent do send (Wessling 2012). These are just a few things I will watch for
when answering emails from my parents and students. Teachers can use emails to communicate
with administrators on any concerns they may have in their classroom. This is also a way to let
them know when they might want to visit their classroom because of a neat activity that the
teacher may have planned for that lesson. Teachers can use email to email the community to have
involvement in their classroom throughout the year. Teachers can bring in different member of
the community to help teach more on the lessons teachers are teaching. Teacher can also email
other teachers when they might need to inform other teacher of events that might be happening in
a students daily life that might affect they way their day is going without giving out to much
information or with out any other teachers hearing things that do not need to be shared.
Class Blog: Through a class blog a teacher is able to provide parents and students with a place
to stay connect to what is happening in their classroom. As the teacher you can update and

inform parents of what is happening or changing in your class. We as a class can create post of
what has happened in our class that day. That way parents or students who where absent that day
can still stay informed with what happened in class. Believe it or not, a daily 140-charcher post
can serve as a great conversation started from parents and their kids(Knutson 2014) Teachers
can involve administrators, the community and other teachers in their blogs. This can give
students a different outlook to the topics that you are discussing in the topic. This can also let
them see where they might be able to help students and build a bond through showing interest in
what they are learning in school.
Remind 101: This way of communication with your parents is a great way to provide daily
messages without the use of personal information. Through this communication a teacher can
send out a text at any time of the day. This allows parents a chance to receive the message
straight to their phone. So incase they cannot get to a computer to check the website or send an
email. Parents can have this form of communication with teachers so they can be aware of
classroom changes or changes to daily schedules they may need to know. Teacher-family
communication increased the odds a student completes their homework by 42 percent and
decreased instances in which teachers had to redirect students attention to the task at hand by 25
percent. Parent-teacher communication is clearly key to a students success (Kalil 2015) This
from of communication is mainly for updates that parents might need to receive about their
students daily schedule, a special day at school, or any changes to that days dismissal due to
weather or problems with buses. Teachers can provide their codes for log in to this to their
administration but really would not help with the community and other teachers.
Communication Internet Security and Safety

Teachers need to make sure that they provide students and parents with the expectations
of what they expect from them when communication on the Internet. Most school uses an
Acceptable Use Policy, which is outlines teachers, students, parents, that they are guest on the
Internet and that they need to us it appropriately (Gunter & Gunter p.84). This should be aware
of everyone that is in use of the Internet. They need to know that once you place something out
there on the Internet that it will always be there. As teachers we can share with our students the
importance of watching what you say on the Internet because it could be taken the wrong way.
We also need to remember that positive role of parent-child interaction on media usage to the
internet may result to better decision making and agreement on which Internet activities may be
considered as harmful or not and higher control over childrens behavior (Vitalaki, Taoulelas &
Tsouvelas 2012). Through the example of the parents and teacher we can provide our students
with a framework of how they should be safe on the Internet when communication with other.
When you get ready to communicate with other make sure that the Wi-Fi site you connect to
which you have to sign in using a password use TSL (Transport Layer Security) or SSL (Secure
Sockets Layer) security (Goldsborough 65). If not connected to a safe site our communication
can be placed in the wrong hands and this person could take the information that we work in
their network and use it for them. These things have had a good deal of attention been paid to
using technology to protect children in schools k-12 from access to undesirable materials on the
Internet(Pendzick & Downs 2002). Through providing our students and parents with support we
can hope to provide a safer place for students to go. Teachers can use a cyber safety lesson that is
geared to age levels. Each month the site provides new lessons on teaching children the
importance of cyber safety. Teachers can also model these things as they are giving lessons
throughout the day.

Concluding Paragraph
As a teacher in the 21st century I am hoping that I can use these communication avenues
to work on a better connections with my parents and students. I hope that I can teach parents and
students the safety and security they should taken when communicating on the Internet. I also
hope that the parents feel they are apart of class everyday just as well as my students are.
Through communication I want to provide a place that both parents and students feel that I am
here for them and want to work together to make sure that the students have the best expense
possible while in my class.

References:
Brown, S. (2003). Using a classroom webpage to communicate with parents. Retrieved May 31,
2015, from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/689
Goldsborough, R. (2015). Staying Safe When Using WiFi. Teacher Librarian, 42(4), 65.
Kalil, K. (2015). Remind 101 Connects Parents and Teachers. Retrieved May 31, 2015, from
http://www.parenting.com/article/remind101-connects-parents-and-teachers
Knutson, J. 6 Tech Tools that Boost Teacher-Parent Communication. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
from https://www.graphite.org/blog/6-tech-tools-that-boost-teacher-parentcommunication
Pendzick, R. E., & Downs, R. L. (2002). School Security Solutions: Bringing Corporate Safety
to Schools and Colleges with EasyLobbyTM Software. Journal Of Science Education &
Technology, 11(1), 5-8.
Vitalaki, E., Tsouvelas, P. G., & Tsouvelas, G. (2012). FACTORS INFLUENCING PARENTAL
CONTROL FOR THE SAFE AND PEDAGOGICAL INTERNET USE AMONG
PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. Problems Of Education In The 21St Century, 42125135.

Wessling, S. (2012). Emailing Parents: How to Avoid Unintended Consequences. Retrieved May
31, 2015, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2012/09/20/emailing-parents/