Digital Badge #F

Communication is essential.  So why are not enough teachers communicating electronically?  Having a blog or wiki to post information regarding a classroom makes fantastic sense.  Parents can log on to their child’s classroom page and know exactly what is due for homework and activities for the week.  Especially if a student forgets their assignment, all you have to do is make a few clicks and problem averted.  Let’s face it most families have smart phones or a computer at home; why not use the technology to be more involved in your child’s classroom.  Most districts allow you to log on to their site so parents can keep track of student progress.  Incorporating this type of communication in the classrooms could be very beneficial. 

Electronic mail is probably the second preferred communication method apart from using a telephone to call your child’s teacher.  But what if all you wanted was to ask a simple question regarding the upcoming homework, activity, or fieldtrip?  It would be more convenient for the parent and the teacher to have the information posted online with details and suggestions.  On the site, a parent could post a question, and the teacher could reply and update the page as needed.  Plenty of time would be saved this way by simply logging on to the classroom website.  As the book states, teachers know how important time is-there is never enough of it to teach everything students need to know (Maloy, 2014).  By applying synchronous communication and asynchronous communication, teachers can communicate information more effectively to students and parents.

I can see how using wikis as a collaborative learning strategy in the classroom can be very beneficial.  I struggled with my first wiki mostly likely because I am unfamiliar with the program.  Hopefully, I will improve my skills and be able to teach my students to develop their wiki one day.  Having a class work on an educational project and synthesizing their information using different forms of multimedia expressions is a great way to expose students of the possibilities technology has to offer.  This form of involvement will encourage students to improve their writing styles and be more creative.  I think it will also encourage technology citizenship and make students reflect on what they are posting.  

I did not realize there were so many wikis available for the whole world use.  I will keep improving my techniques as I continue my quest to become a tech savvy teacher for my future classroom.  It is pretty amazing to know there are different forms of communication at our fingertips.  Having virtual access to your child’s classroom is so beneficial at different levels.   Given these types of communication, families become more involved in their child’s progress and education.  Living in this digital age, we all have options that allow us to progress effortlessly when communicating.  Let us use it intelligently to our advantage. 

Resources:

Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.