Technology to Support Communication
Tara Edwards
EDU-225
March 12, 2018
Mr. Randal Yard
Technology is an important part of education and will only get more prevalent in the future. Technology is an amazing tool to use to communicate with parents if utilized and used the correct way. While email is the standard form of communication most parents feel that teachers do not respond in a timely manner. Text messages are quick and easy but most teachers do not feel comfortable giving out their personal numbers. Parents are often given information but are unable to respond (Olmstead, 2013). One site that lets teachers communicate with parents and vice versa is Remind. This app lets teachers send out group or individual messages to parents about anything the teacher feels is important like upcoming events, assignments or reminders. This site uses the student or parents’ phone number to sign up for notifications, but the number is never revealed to the teacher. The teacher’s telephone number is not revealed to the students or parents either, so it is a safe way to communicate without giving out personal numbers and it is easy to use. (Bobbitt, R., Inman, R., & Bertrand, E. (2013).
Students will benefit from communicating through technology by being able to get information from their teachers without having to wait on their parents. This is most beneficial for junior high and high school students. Most secondary and high school students have some sort of school issued technology like an IPad or laptop for school work and on these devices the students have their own email and secure sites to communicate with their teachers. This helps the student keep up with assignments or ask for help when they are not at school. Teachers can also relay any changes to assignments or upcoming events that the students need to be aware of immediately.
Global communication is the communication between others around the world. Being able to communicate with others around the world opens a large variety of learning opportunities. There are many ways to communicate globally depending on the type of device you are using. For some it is Facetime while others it is Skype. These tools let you see who you are talking to and they can show an object or place that is the topic of the assignment. For example, you could Facetime with a student or teacher in Paris, France if your topic is the monuments in that county and they could show you in real time the Effile Tower and tell you the history as well.
Technology is ever changing and schools must stay on top of professional development where this is concerned. Making sure teachers have the most up to date information will only make them better communicators with everyone involved with each student, including the student when need be.
References:
Bobbitt, R., Inman, R., & Bertrand, E. (2013). Using Remind 101 as a Classroom: Communication Tool. NACTA Journal, 57(4), 77-78.
Olmstead, Christine (2013) Using Technology to Increase Parental Involvement in Schools. TechTrends, Volume 57 (Issue 6) p28-37. 10p.