In my classroom my digital communication is with parents only. My 3–4-year-old students cannot read, nor do I have need to tell them anything electronically. However, I do need to communicate to the parents and guardians on a weekly basis in order to keep them updated on our learning activities, show-and-tell for the week, and sometimes for behavioral comments (good or problematic). In the past my parents let me know they really like the updates, so they know what subject matter to use to converse with their child. So, the question for me is, what is the most effective way to reach the parents with this information weekly. Recently, I began just doing bullet points rather than a long email update. Now I am considering switching to a classroom blog so the parents can choose to look at a verbal and pictorial update of their child’s learning instead of being inundated with my emails. On the blog I could also post my monthly newsletter.
I do not think that digital communication is the best way of
dealing with problems or discussing a child’s behavior. Words without voice
inflection and facial expressions in an email can be misconstrued and
misunderstood. Requesting a meeting to discuss problems and behavior is better.
I think a short video blog is nice sometimes to deal with specific
content. For instance, last year when our school first went into quarantine
through the end of the school year, our school principal did weekly video emails.
This was perfect because he is a type A person and writes very “to the point”
which I like but can seem unemotional. However, his short video addresses
showed his emotion, kindness, empathy, along with giving pertinent information.
This was an excellent choice of technology for him in order to communicate well to
families. It is good to consider our own personalities and how we sound in
our writing and speaking. That will help us make good communication decisions.
Angela,
ReplyDeleteYou made a great point about the choice of technological communication meshing well with your personality. This explains why some forms of communication work well for some situations, but are not as effective with others.
I think your idea of a blog is an excellent fit for your preschool students. This gives the parents flexibility in checking the information at their leisure. The pictures also open the door for parents to sit down with their kids and talk about the experiences that they had at your school. You can still send out an email notification each month, when you update the newsletter.
Great thoughts on this topic. Oh, and if parents are complimenting you on your up to date information, then you are definitely on the right track!
Angela,
ReplyDeleteThanks for benefiting all of us with your reflection. I am encouraged to make my own blog with little touches here and there. This way the parents can feel that they know what's going on in the class to some degree. The video is neat too.
I just found that blogger has an app for android. So that makes it all the easier to take pictures and upload them. Maybe even a small caption. This even creates opportunities to celebrate success. I imagine with 3-4 year olds, there are always "firsts" and/or "successes".
Blessings.