Technology to Support Communication

Students who have parents who are actively involved in their education have higher grades and test scores, enroll in higherlevel programs, graduate from high school, and go on to post-secondary education (Olmstead, 2013, p. 28). Parents want to be
involved in their childs education but they cannot be in the classroom with their child, so they must depend on the teacher to
communicate with them. There are several ways teachers can accomplish the task of communication between parents, students and
the global community.
Technology such as E-mail, online gradebooks or communication apps. are now available to teachers to use to enhance the
communication with parents. The U.S. Census Bureau found that as of October, 2009, 76% of all households have internet access
(Ziegar & Tan, 2012). Because of this trend it is becoming more convenient to use technology to communicate with parents. In a
survey conducted by Christine Olmstead eighty-six parents of the eighty-nine surveyed preferred to use E-mail and in-person
communication (2013). Several school districts have some type of an online gradebook in which parents can check students grades
and whether they have an assignment due. This allows parents to monitor their childs progress and they can see if their childs grades
are due to the lack of turning in assignments, which gives the parent the opportunity to address the problem before it escalates (Ziegar
& Tan, 2012). Another way teachers are communicating with parents is through communication apps. These apps. allow teachers to
send a general text message regarding information about an upcoming test or assignments that may be due. These are helpful to send
quick messages without teachers having to give out their personal cell phone numbers. Teachers are not comfortable giving out their
personal cell phone numbers (Olmstead, 2013). All of these are ways in which teachers are enhancing technology to communicate
with parents.
Students may also find the need to communicate with teachers as they get older to have more control over their grades and
assignments. Students can also use online gradebooks and communication apps. Other ways teachers can communicate with students
are through teacher websites or social media. By using websites teachers must update it regularly in order to keep it relevant for
students to check it on a regular basis. Parents were found to only check the teacher website twice a month, but would check the
school website weekly (Olmstead, 2013). Students may respond more to a Facebook page when communicating with teachers. These
can be used to post assignments and start discussions. Students found using Facebook easy and benefitted from the information that
was posted by the other students (Divall & Kirwin 2012). Teachers must also remember that when using social media in their class
that internet safety should be taught to ensure that students know what can be posted and what can be shared (DeFranco, 2011).
When teachers communicate with the global community new ideas are shared. Teachers can communicate with the global
community using Facebook or websites. By using these resources teachers can communicate ideas to use in the classroom with each
other. They can set up lessons using video to teach their students about other countries and even take online fieldtrips. These are ways
in which teachers can enhance communication with the global community.
The way teachers, parents, students and the global community communicate has changed. There is no longer just one way to
communicate with teachers there are several; E-mails, apps, websites and social media can all be used to communicate between home
and school. Teachers must work with parents and students to know what works best to enhance technology in communication.

References
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Zieger, L. B., & Tan, J. (2012). Improving Parent Involvement in Secondary Schools through Communication Technology. Journal Of
Literacy & Technology, 13(2), 30-54. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?
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