Adding Excitment to how we Communicate and Collaborate in the Classroom

Chapter 8- Communicating and Collaborating with Social Media

Social Media

 

Focus Question: How will your teacher communication systems create positive learning experiences for you and your students?

Electronic Communication between teachers and students include but are not limited to: email, text messaging, teacher or classroom websites, blogs, online discussions, and wikis. These tools are contemporary instruments through which teachers and students interact while sharing ideas and information with each other, as well as with various audiences for educational purposes.

The choice as to what communication system to use, lies with the teacher. The interest levels of students, as well as the availability of the technology is necessary for consideration. I particularly like the tool of a class website where I have a 24/7 communication flow with students and parents. I never issue my telephone number to my students or their parents so this would be an avenue for constant connection. My ideal is a site pertinent to my classroom environment. One where I am able to post material related to the various topics which we cover; Material in forms such as links to interactive sites, videos, journals, and so on. It is a tool that keeps students and parents aware of upcoming events or reminders of assignments and their due dates.  It facilitates student communication so that students can collaborate and share ideas and perspectives on certain topics. The key is to make this site a place where my students are engaged and excited to visit. I usually like to post “Early work” - First Stop, as I like to call them, so that as students enter the classroom in the mornings, they settle down and get straight to working on this assignment displayed on the smart board. It is always important to keep students on task, so posting different activities for them to choose from in the event that they complete their assignments early is also helpful on a site. I would post these on the class’ site instead. This, I believe, would be convenient to any teacher. However, it demands intense planning, ordering and monitoring. Teachers are usually good at that anyway.

Tech Tool Link:

Website and Blog-Building Resources for Teachers – Commercially available template

Creating a Classroom Website

 

You may follow the instructions above and create a classroom website using your google account. However, there are commercially available websites or blog builders such as TaskStream (www.taskstream.com) or eBlogger (http://eblogger.com). You will not find the variety or quality of graphics you desire, but these allow for password protection, and offer a ready-made publication portal for your site on the internet so both teacher and students can rest assured that their work is not accessed by just about anyone.

Summary and Connection

The choice as to the types of digital communication systems is up to the teacher. The variety is constantly diversified and so there is no need for any student in the modern classroom to complain of boredom. The digital communication systems can be used for teaching, for sharing information, for the publishing of students’ work, for getting parents involved and so much more. The key is to use what appeals to the students. They are always on the internet; they are constantly on their ‘cell phones’; everyone has a need to be heard and if opening more avenues for these voices and energies to be channeled in a productive manner is wrong, then “I don’t wanna be right”.

Resources:
Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B. P. (2010). Transforming learning with new technologies. Allyn & Bacon.