In the new world of technology, it hasn’t been as simple and easy to stay connected with your students and their families than it is NOW! With so many new ways of sharing news, sending out reminders, and staying connected to increase productivity and effectiveness in the classroom, there really isn’t a good reason why all teachers shouldn’t use these new avenues.
Here are five simple ways that I have found easy, simple, and effective in staying connected as a educator!
If you haven’t heard of the remind, download it right now!!! It is a simple way to send quick messages to parents on upcoming events in the classroom to their phone! Parents can be added by scanning a QR code that takes them directly to your classroom profile or you can invite them by typing in their e-mail addresses or phone numbers. I usually invite parents immediately after collecting their contact information at the beginning of the year. It is fast, free, easy, and effective.
Have you ever considered creating a CLOSED Facebook Group for your classroom? You can accept requests of only students’ parents in your classroom, and it is a fast and fun way of sharing pictures! No longer will you have to burn pictures on a CD-ROM at the end of the year to share. Now you can share those pictures regularly throughout the year. Just make sure that parents sign a consent form to allow their child’s picture be posted.
This has to be my favorite new way of communicating with my parents this year! It is so simple to set up, and I can send student videos and work samples to their parents directly. It also serves as a blog for our classroom and helps me store students’ data safely as I can set strict privacy settings on their files. If you are required or are thinking of creating a digital data folder for your students, this is the best tool that I have found. The best part is it’s FREE!
Blogging is great way of putting your students’ learning on display! As a parent, I love seeing and knowing all about my child’s learning, so that is why I appreciate and love blogging. Not only does it showcase your students work and experiences, it also allows parents to be part of the classroom and understand more on how to support it at home. And did I mention?! It’s FREE!
