Kicking it up a Notch: Parental Engagement in the 21st Century

Lorna Costantini and Matt Montagne

"What's Stopping Us?"
Parents as well as teachers grew up in a Web 1.0 world. Where the Internet is used mainly for e-mail and not interactive. Until we teach teachers and parents how to openly communicate using web 2.0 tools, we cannot expect them to be comfortable with what their kids and students are doing online.

Kids are writing more outside of school online than they are in the classroom. They are networking with people, solving problems, and forming relationships with people they have never met in the physical world. How do we use these talents to change how we teach them?

1. Digital Citizenship - acceptable use policy - filtering software does not encourage acceptable use. It teaches kids how to get around the walls and blocks valuable information.
Having parents try out the online tools and understand their use will provide mentoring opportunities.

2. Informed parents will be better prepared to help their child succeed. - parents who know how teachers use social networking tools are better able to use these tools with their children at home. Urge parents to try new things so that they can better understand its uses. Parents should set up a Facebook account and learn how it is used by their child and use it to establish relationships themselves.

3. Parents are challenged to find the time to be involved - record and post presentations so parents can view or listen to them at their own convenience. Create an online parental forum where parents can post their questions and comments. Get parents involved in their childrens field trips through blogs and chatting. Students can post what they are learning, where they are going next, and how their learning is being reinforced.

4. Parents and Teachers need resources and training - We need to seek the value of communication between parents and teachers online. We all need to try it so we can see the benefits on web 2.0 tools. Web 2.0 tools will give teachers the tools needed to communicate with parents. (Ning - Parents as Partners) Online communication tools allow parents who normally would not be involved in their student's classroom the tool to communicate and take part in their child's education.


What I found cool about this presentation, was that it was a Voicethread presentation. Very cool!
A great presentation on involving parents in the use of Web 2.0 tools.

Teaching Web 2.0 - Wendy Drexler

http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/
What a cool wiki! An open wiki where anyone can place Web 2.0 tools. Excellent resource for teachers. Wendy Drexler along with a colleague created this wiki as a tool for educators to use and add to. It is an unlimited resource that I cannot wait to explore for my classroom. Her presentation focused on exploring and using Web 2.0 resources in the classroom. Not only does she expect teachers to explore the links, but to add to it.

Give it a try.
Start small with colleagues.
Don't be afraid to have skeptics on your team.