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Gone are the days of easy-to-lose printed newsletters, now that you can harness the flexibility and interactivity of tech. Keeping parents in the loop — while everyone is on the go — has never been simpler. Check out these nine effective ways to connect, collaborate and share!
By Melissa Campeau
Chat Via Video
Finding it difficult to schedule an in-person meeting? Upgrade a phone call to a video chat for convenience (any time, from nearly anywhere) and a better conversation. The visual element means that you can see expressions and show samples of student work.
TRY: Skype.com; Oovoo.com
Connect Your Calendars
Pizza day! Library books due! With so much to keep track of, make life easier by creating an online class calendar — one that parents can sync with their everyday schedulers. Insert updates and additions on the fly and send alerts when there’s something new.
TRY: Google Calendar, oct-oeeo.ca/387n7f; Outlook Calendar, officecalendar.com
A Class App
Have a million details to share? There’s a built-for-the-classroom app for that! The Remind app, for instance, lets teachers send notes to specific groups to keep important dates front of mind. Classtree is a nifty way to send and collect consent forms entirely online.
TRY: Remind.com; Classtree.sg
Blog It Out
Want to explain a new unit; share your teaching philosophy? A regularly updated blog offers space for big ideas, plus a convenient spot for daily and weekly agendas, reminders and photos. Turn on the Comments feature to encourage conversation and build a classroom community.
TRY: Edublogs.org; WordPress.com
Get Social
A timely tweet can be worth a thousand words when it means including parents in everyday classroom life. Create private groups on popular social media platforms to share field trip photos and science fair results. Bonus: older grades can help create and post messages.
TRY: Facebook.com; Twitter.com; Instagram.com
Portfolios Plusses
It’s no surprise that students with involved parents do better in school. Give students a leg up — and parents a window into classwork — with online portfolios. Intuitive platforms mean members of an invited group can access finished and in-progress assignments, due dates and notes.
TRY: Edmodo.com; Evernote.com
Keep It Pinteresting
Not just for kitchen makeovers! Use Pinterest to create boards with images, articles, podcasts and videos for parents and students to review. New unit on Canadian history coming up? Post links to YouTube clips. Art project complete? Celebrate with a virtual wall of art.
TRY: Pinterest.com
Work a Website
You don’t have to know code to build a useful (and attractive!) class website. Free, simple templates mean it’s a snap to create a hub for lesson plans, contact information, classroom expectations and anything else parents should be aware of.
TRY: Google Sites, oct-oeeo.ca/5pngpx; Weebly, oct-oeeo.ca/sr4s9w
The Write Stuff
Add bells and whistles or keep it simple, either way, e-newsletters are ideal for anything longer than a couple of lines. What’s even better is that you’ll be hard pressed to find a parent who doesn’t have email. Design your own or try a ready-to-use template and/or delivery service.
TRY: MailChimp.com
For best practices in technology, consult the College’s professional advisory Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media (oct-oeeo.ca/taxqrg).