Using Technology to Communicate with Students and Parents

For me, I think the main benefit of using technology to organize, analyze and simplify data is that it can be used to keep everything in one place, easy to find and adjust as needed.  Furthermore, this also allows us to share information with parents more easily. 

One of the biggest areas in my own teaching is reading.  Our 1st graders are learning how to read at varying rates.  They come into the classroom at incredibly varied starting points and they grow at varying paces.  Parents are highly concerned with their child's reading and whether or not they are on track to being able to read, etc.  We use a variety of different programs to help our students grow in the area of reading:

• FUNdations: Builds phonetic skills
• Making Meaning: Focuses on reading comprehension
• Sight Words: Helps with immediate word recognition
• Literacy Footprints: Leveled readers for Guided Reading

All of the above programs work together to strengthen our students as readers, giving them the full range of practice with decoding skills, fluency and comprehension.  Students are tested in one way or another in each of these areas. Being able to use tools such as Google Sheets to organize data, color code based on scores, and translate data into charts allows me to get a snapshot of the class as a whole as well as focus on different students.  Rather than using a physical grade book which can get lost or otherwise ruined (I mean, let's face it. Coffee is a must in teaching and how often have we spilled coffee on important documents?), Google Sheets keeps track of their scores and all of the data that goes with it in a safe place, and allows me to color code based on whatever rule I set through conditional formatting.  In this way, the technology is a lot more efficient and can save me valuable time.  Even if I spill my coffee on my computer, I still won't lose that data! :) Having the data in a safe place also makes it easier when communicating with parents.  For example, if I have a call with a parent on Google Meet, I can easily access the data to share with them.  Being able to see data in one spot, and possibly color coded using conditional formatting, I can help parents make sense of everything they are seeing.  Visuals sometimes go a longer way than a series of numbers or grades in helping parents and teachers make sense of how a student is performing. 

In conjunction with using Google Sheets, I can keep my students work in different portfolio-type files on Google Drive.  By granting access to students and parents, they can keep track of how their child is performing in areas. For example, being able to record how a student does on a fluency assessment and posting the video in their folder can better help a parent see and understand how a child is performing in this area.  This can also save me valuable time because rather than trying to explain to a parent how the test is administered, they can view it for themselves. According to Kuusimaki, "parent-teacher collaboration is best achieved by deploying multiple communication channels. In particular, finding the most convenient way to communicate is crucial in trying to form well-functioning working relationships with cultural and linguistically diverse families," (Kuusimaki et. al., 2019).  The use of technology allows for that kind of communication.  In conjunction with phone calls, and emails, these technological tools allow for multiple ways to connect with parents.   

Students can also revisit their work and have access to it wherever they are. This is beneficial because it promotes pride in their work.  Especially at the early childhood level, students love to show off what they have done!  Allowing them access to it from anywhere, such as their parent's phone using the Google Drive app, students can show their work to grandma and grandpa who can dote over what they have accomplished.  

Tracking student's scores and analyzing the data using Google Sheets and keeping track of student work using Google Drive are two small examples of all the ways educators can practically implement the use of technology in the classroom.  There are a variety of other ways to use technology, but no matter what grade you teach, the two aforementioned ways are incredibly useful.  It opens up so many doors for the teacher in getting a better picture of their class as a whole as well as each individual student.  Furthermore, with the various sharing and communication capabilities, it allows for more effective parent-teacher collaboration as well.  

References

Kuusimäki, A.-M., Uusitalo-Malmivaara, L., & Tirri, K. (2019). Parents’ and Teachers’ Views on Digital Communication in Finland. Education Research International, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8236786